Hardtale
by SpookyDJ
Summary: Once upon a time, in the year 201x, a human climbed Mt. Ebott and fell into the Underground. They disappeared as suddenly as they came. Many years later, a child named Frisk falls into the Underground as well. They'll soon find out, however, that life down there can be hell. (Hard Mode Spoilers)
1. Reunion

**Howdy, welcome to Hardtale! This story's based a lot around hard mode. It kind of started off as a "what if Hard Mode was finished, what would it be like?" idea, but I think the results have become quite a bit different than what Hard Mode would actually be. But it still keeps some of Hard Mode's core ideas, mainly that the enemies are...harder.**

 **I'm sure I've pulled some inspiration from various theories floating around about a theoretical finished Hard Mode, and there's probably some inspiration from different aus here and there as well (most likely Underfell and, later on, Errortale). A lot of it's really not intentional, but I guess it can't be helped. It's bound to happen.**

 **At this point, if you haven't guessed, I should mention this is going to have a lot of spoilers for Hard Mode, especially the first few chapters! Not so much after that, but there's probably going to be spoilers (or at the very least, references) to Pacifist and Genocide as well, so continue with caution!**

* * *

Frisk couldn't remember falling, but it certainly felt like they had. Their head was pounding, and every muscle in their body hurt. When they opened their eyes, they weren't sure where they were. All they could tell was that they had landed in a pile of orange leaves, which had probably helped break their fall.

That had been lucky. Without those leaves, they'd be much worse off right now.

As they pushed themselves up from the ground, they tried to remember how they'd gotten here. Their brain was still foggy from waking up, and their whole body screaming in pain definitely didn't help. After a few minutes, all they could remember that whatever had brought them here, it was important. Any other details were lost for now.

They'd have to figure that out later, they decided. Whatever reason they came to this place, they couldn't just hang around a pile of leaves all day. They would remember with time, but for now, they should at least look around.

With a stick from the ground in hand (just in case), Frisk walked away from the pile of leaves. It looked like they were in some kind of cave, with the only entrance outside far above their head. That explained the fall. The entrance was too high to climb back up, and it didn't look like they could go anywhere but deeper in the cave, so that decided their course of action. The hole brought some sunlight into the area, but it was dark and foreboding otherwise, enough so that they were having trouble seeing. A large hole (or something like it; they were still adjusting to darkness in the area) opened up into a small room to their side. Seeing nowhere else to go, they decided to walk into it.

The next room looked empty at first, but after a few seconds Frisk saw a flower in the corner of the room. It was hunched over, looking sad for a flower. After Frisk saw it, the flower began to turn around. It seemed to be moving on its own, and now they could see a face in the middle of its gold petals. The expression it wore...it looked tired, more tired than any flower Frisk had ever seen. (Though maybe the face helped...its petals were droopy, but they could see its exhaustion in its eyes, too.)

"Howdy...I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower. You must be new around he- ...Wait." The words died on its lips as it took a good look at them. It burrowed underground and disappeared, only to pop back up in front of Frisk. It looked closely at them. "...You aren't new here at all, are you?"

Frisk said nothing. They'd never seen anything like this flower before. And they'd certainly never talked to one. Or had they? Their mind was still a little jumbled...they supposed it was possible. How else would it recognize them?

Their silence did nothing to deter Flowey, who seemed even more certain now. "I thought so! You've been here before...you came back! I waited for so long... I was beginning to think you never would. That something must've happened..." It seemed to droop for a minute, lost in some sort of memory, before perking back up. Beaming, it continued. "But now you're here! We can finally finish what we started, make things right, and..." It laughed, looking away. "But I'm getting ahead of myself."

Frisk stayed silent throughout the whole thing. They were beginning to think the flower was mistaken. They might have talked to a flower and not be able to remember at the moment, but a plan... They never started anything like that, not with a flower. Maybe they looked like someone else that had fallen down here or something. Or...it could be making the whole thing up, they had no idea.

"So...you did your part. You have them, right?" Flowey began peeking around at Frisk, as if they were hiding something. "You said you'd come back with them. You promised, the next time we'd meet...so, where are they?"

"...Bandages?" Frisk guesed out loud, their voice hurting their throat a little. Assuming this flower just wanted some bandages was probably stupid, they knew that. But it was all they had...so maybe the flower _did_ want bandages. They could hope, at least. "I have bandages, I'm covered in 'em... Or, uh, I have a stick..." They waved their left hand, which was clutching the stick in question.

"...You're kidding, right?" Flowey chuckled, shaking its head. "You did used to like to tell jokes, huh? Just like..." It sighed, giving them a desperate look. "Come on. I've waited so long...don't play games with me now. Just show them to me."

They swallowed and looked away. "I...That's all I have," they mumbled. "Whatever you want, I don't... I don't have it."

"...You're serious, aren't you? You don't have them..." Flowey blinked. "But that...that doesn't make sense. We're...we're best friends, you made a promise. But now, the look on your face...you don't even know who I am." It stared at the ground, trying to process something. "I waited for you, and you came back with nothing. Heh...I was an idiot, wasn't I?"

A memory stirred in the back of Frisk's mind. They reached out, tried to remember, but in an instant it was gone. Maybe there was some truth to the flower's words after all, but... had they really broken a promise like that? Why?

They didn't have time to figure it out.

"You LIED to me!" A vine shot out of the ground behind Frisk and wrapped itself around Frisk, lifting them up in the air. "I thought you of all people could be trusted. But no one can be, can they? Even the best of humans only care about themselves." A ring of seed bullets appeared around them. Flowey's face morphed into something more sinister as it let out a chilling laugh. "I almost died because of you...so now I'll return the favor!"

"I'm sorry!" Frisk cried out. "I'm so sorry! Please..." They had no idea what they were apologizing for, or even who to. But if apologizing could save them...they couldn't die here. Not to a talking flower. And whether they'd been the one to break the flower's promise, or if it was someone else, it deserved an apology. Promises were important, had to be kept. Maybe apologizing would help, even if it came from the wrong person.

They didn't receive a reply. Flowey had no intention of letting them go. It didn't seem like they'd make it past this point, and they felt pretty hopeless.

They called out for help.

Before the bullets could close in on Frisk, the room lit up with blue flames. The majority of them were concentrated around Flowey, who was starting to panic. Before the flames could hurt it, it disappeared back into the ground. The vine holding Frisk retreated as well, and the flames backed away from them. They landed on the ground unharmed as a voice spoke.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth."

Frisk looked up. The flames dissipated as a tall goat monster rushed towards them, concern clear on their face. The goat knelt down next to them and placed a hand on their head.

"Are you alright, child? You look like you're hurt, let me heal you."

A soothing sensation began spreading throughout their body from the goat's hand. The aches and pains from falling twice now began to disappear, and their memory cleared up a little. There were scrapes on their face as well from before the fall, all covered in bandages, that vanished as well. The bandages stayed on their face, though. They felt...comforting, safe.

"Thank you," Frisk whispered.

They sat up and got their first good look at who saved them. She was a tall, beautiful goat monster wearing a long dress. She was warm and almost familiar, especially now that Frisk was healed up, but something about her appearance just didn't seem...right. An old, faded ribbon was tied around her wrist, as if it were a bracelet. Her horns were longer than they thought they should be, curling off just at the ends. The dress seemed odd, too. It was entirely a bright, aqua color, and the sleeves looked a bit small. And Frisk had seen the emblem on her chest before, but they could've sworn the winged symbol was a circle, not the heart they now saw.

Regardless of how she looked, she still seemed friendly and kind, and her appearance did little to sway that impression anyway. They didn't think much more about it.

"It is no trouble, my child. I'm glad that I could help," she replied, smiling. "My name is Toriel. I am the caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through every day to see if someone has fallen down here. Though I am afraid I should have come sooner and kept that miserable creature away. Then you might not have been injured." Toriel looked away, looking a bit pained. "I am sorry, my child."

Frisk shook their head and threw their harms around her. "It's not your fault," they insisted. They could have gone on, since that wasn't all they were thinking, but the hug already communicated all of it and more. It wasn't needed, so they stayed quiet.

Toriel didn't expect the hug and didn't move at first. Then she quickly returned it, holding them as tightly as she could without hurting them. They stayed like that for a moment, and Frisk was happy, happier than they'd felt since arriving there. Eventually they had to separate, and Toriel helped them up onto their feet.

"Come, child. I will guide you through the catacombs." Toriel held out her hand, and Frisk took it. They left the dark room and walked through the next one. Another doorway was on the other side of this room, but it was more inviting, and the room was much brighter than the previous one had been. Orange leaves were scattered through the room, mostly concentrated by the doorway. A sign sat above the exit, indicating that this was the entrance into the Ruins she had mentioned. It was a welcoming scene compared to everything so far, and it made Frisk feel...

Determined.

"These are the Ruins," Toriel told them as they walked through the doorway. A closed door stood in front of them, with a series of floor switches next to it and a sign behind it. "In order to navigate the Ruins, we will have to solve puzzles. They were created long ago to serve as both diversions and door keys. Please adjust yourself to them."

Frisk watched for a minute while she solved the puzzle. They walked around and observed the puzzle, figuring out how the solution made sense. With this new knowledge in mind, they nodded, and the two of them went into the next room.

The Ruins had more than their fair share of puzzles. Toriel allowed them to solve some of the easier ones (with help of course), while she tackled the harder and more dangerous ones. A monster or two approached them, seeing there was someone new in the Ruins and checking things out. Toriel made sure it was safe, though, and no one was harmed during these encounters. Things went smoothly, and Frisk's gradually remembered more and more, until she stopped in one room.

"I have a difficult task to ask of you, my child..." she said. She looked away from them, and squeezed their hand in her own. "I need you to walk to the end of this room by yourself. I know this is hard, but...please forgive me." Before she could change her mind, she let go of Frisk's hand quickly walked ahead, soon disappearing from their view.

Frisk looked around. The room looked straightforward. The exit was far away, but there were no turns or curves in the room, and nothing in their way to get there. It didn't even look like there was a puzzle in the room, which made this one of the first rooms they'd seen in the Ruins that didn't have one. Regardless, this wouldn't be too difficult. They missed walking and talking with Toriel, but...it was doable. They walked ahead, following an unnecessary path on the floor in front of them. It took several minutes, but they eventually reached the end, pausing next to a pillar to catch their breath. While they stopped, Toriel emerged from beyond the pillar.

"Are you alright, child?" She looked down at them with a frown. "It is alright, I did not leave you... I have been here the whole time. Do you need me to heal you? Will it help?"

Shaking their head, Frisk smiled up at her. "I'm okay." Were they really that tired out already? They knew how big the Underground was, they needed to get used to walking around. It would be rough going if they didn't.

"That is good." Toriel sighed with relief. "I'm sorry I gave you such a hard task, but I had a reason. To test your independence. You see, I..." She looked away again, laughing a little. "I have some errands I need to run, and will have to leave you alone for awhile. It looks like you'll be fine on your own. Don't leave the room, my child, I will come back when I'm done. I'll give you a cellphone, so call me if you need me for anything, alright? I will be back soon."

She handed them a cellphone (with her number already in it) and pat the top of their head. They smiled up her, and she was gone not long after. Frisk sat down, leaning up against the pillar while they waited. After a few minutes, they started to feel bored and lonely. They looked down at their phone. She wouldn't mind one call...

Their was only one number in the list of contacts. They clicked it and held the phone up to their face.

"Hello? Is that you, my child?" Toriel asked.

Now that they had called her, they weren't sure what to say, or to talk about. She'd said to call if they needed her, and it wasn't like they didn't. They needed her company, just to hear her voice...but they couldn't find the words to say, how to tell her. But starting with a friendly greeting always helps. "Hello...mom."

"Did you just call me..." She sounded shocked, but she definitely wasn't unhappy. On the contrary, she seemed elated. "If it'd make you happy, to call me your mother... I'm more than happy to hear that. Call me whatever you would like, child."

From there, the conversation went smoothly. It was short, but Frisk felt much better. They smiled as they hung up. They hummed and looked around the room, ready to wait as long as it took.

Out of the corner of their eye, they thought they saw a flower, but when they looked again, it was gone.

* * *

 **Flowey's vines seem to be more of a fanon thing as far as I know, but they have their use here. Probably won't come up again.**

 **Flowey's segment in general I'm not overly happy with, but it's definitely better than it was. I might come back and edit this some day, but nothing much will change.**


	2. Home

**As it turns out, this was originally supposed to all be part of the previous chapter, ending where this chapter does now. But chapters got...a bit longer than I expected. The way I'm writing it, all these chapters are probably going to be in huge blocks, but when I post it on here, I'll probably split up each of my chapters into two or three. Hopefully it's a little easier to read and get through that way! Plus, whenever I post chapters on here, I'll probably be posting multiple at a time as a result of that, so this way, I think everyone wins.**

 **Sorry about...well...Toriel, I guess. I can't really write Toriel that well. I'm not really surprised by this fact, but...she'll only be around for a little bit longer at least. For now.**

* * *

Ten minutes later, they were bored again. There was only so much to do in the room, and Toriel still wasn't back, despite her promises. She'd told them at least once that the Ruins weren't safe, but they were tempted to explore the rest of them anyway. Five minutes later, the temptation grew stronger, and she was showing no sign of coming back soon. They could take care of themself. They'd done it before.

Frisk got up and walked into the next room. It was full of more orange leaves...they were everywhere in this place. The leaves had saved them once, buffering their fall, and had helped welcome them into someplace new. The sight of these familiar leaves helped them feel...

Determined.

They were sure they would be fine. They'd find her and it would work out; they'd explore the rest of the Ruins together, and then keep going through the Underground. Eager as they were to continue, they were immediately stopped by a phone call. Knowing who it was, they answered.

"Hello, my child. You haven't left the room, have you?" Toriel asked. "I was distracted by a small, annoying dog, but I am fine now. There are some things I need to pick up, but I will be back to get you soon. Don't wander off by yourself, there are more puzzles I need to explain. I won't be long."

Frisk didn't say a word, just nodded as if she could see them.

After they hung up, a Froggit hopped over to them. It was a Froggit they had seen before with Toriel; after giving it a compliment, they'd left it alone and spared it. It had been a bit wary of Toriel, but had left with a smile. It recognized them again now, and remembered their kindness.

"(Excuse me... You are very merciful for a human. I have a warning for you about battling monsters.)

"(The Underground has gotten much more aggressive in the past several years. Some sort of change has caused some of us monsters to get stronger, and we're much more likely to fight. You may find yourself battling a monster you cannot defeat. If that happens, you should FLEE. But with how powerful some monsters have become, it may be impossible to do so at first. Be careful, human.)"

More aggressive?

Something about that didn't sit right with them. From what they knew about monsters, they usually weren't overly aggressive creatures. Many wouldn't want to fight at all, and few would prevent anyone from leaving a fight. Whatever change the Froggit was talking about, it must've made something go wrong.

Whatever happened, they didn't like the sound of it.

Frisk thanked the Froggit for the warning and started to move on. They found some candy in a room off to the side, but didn't get much farther before they were stopped again. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw another monster moving towards them. At first it looked like another Froggit, but upon closer examination it was clearly something else. A crown sat on top of its head, spikes covered its body, and they were intimidated by its strength, even without it attacking. This didn't seem correct...were monsters really this powerful in the Ruins? Maybe they should have waited for Toriel after all.

Now more cautious, Frisk continued through the Ruins. They spared any monsters they came across, all of them more powerful than they had expected. It was hard to believe... Between the puzzles and monsters, they were constantly on their toes, and they missed Toriel more and more.

They thought about calling Toriel again, but before they could, their phone began ringing. They'd been beaten to it. Pulling out their phone, they answered.

"Hello, my child. This is Toriel," she said, her voice as warm and caring as ever. "Just out of curiosity, which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?" They were about to answer, but she interrupted, her voice now quiet and thoughtful. "...Wait, don't tell me. Is it cinnamon?"

Frisk was practically glowing with happiness. They hadn't actually expected her to know, but...they were happy that she did. Even small little facts like that could mean everything. They confirmed that yes, they did prefer cinnamon.

"Good. This may sound strange, but..." She paused, probably thinking about what she was going to say before going on. "...when you first fell down here, it felt like we'd already met, like... seeing an old friend again."

An old friend... They frowned, wondering what she meant, but didn't comment on it. Instead, they asked when she would come back.

"Do not worry, child," she assured them. "I am sure I won't be much longer. Thank you for waiting so patiently."

She hung up. Frisk kept walking, a few things on their mind. They couldn't have taken more than a few steps when their phone rang again, interrupting their thoughts. Confused, they answered.

"Greetings. This is Toriel...again," she said. "Now, I know what I asked before, but... Do you like things other than cinnamon or butterscotch?" They were, again, about to answer, but this time Toriel barely paused at all, not giving them a chance to answer. "What am I saying...I'll have to look harder. Thank you anyways, my child."

They both hung up. Toriel was planning something, from the sounds of it, but Frisk was too busy to give it much attention. There were several more puzzles to go through in the Ruins, each more difficult than the last. And in each puzzle they came across, groups of monsters came forward and attacked. They started fleeing most of their battles instead of sparing. Solving puzzles while dodging monster attacks was hard enough without thinking about how to appease each monster. The path through the Ruins was much more dangerous than they'd thought, but thankfully they had a few pieces of candy to keep them going.

Eventually, they reached what looked like the end of the Ruins. A path lead them straight to a tree that had shed all of its leaves. A large pile of them sat under it, suspiciously similar to the leaves scattered throughout the Ruins. Someone must have moved them... Their phone rang, distracting them from the thought.

"Oh!" The voice came from in front of them, instead of the phone. Their phone clicked to end the call, and they looked up to see Toriel walking towards them. They grinned up at her and she smiled back. Once she reached them, she kneeled down, looking them over.

"I did not expect you to make it this far by yourself, child..." she mused. "Are you hurt? Let me heal you." She put a hand on their head, and they felt the same sensation as they had when they'd first met: soothing and warm. All the injuries they'd gotten dodging monster attacks were gone. Once they were fully healed, Toriel went on. "I shouldn't have left you alone for so long, my child. You should not have had to put yourself in such danger, and I'm sorry. But, I...well, you'll see. Come inside."

Toriel stood up, and they walked in together.

Inside, it was the most amazing home Frisk had ever seen. Sure, it didn't look like it was anything special, but that had its own beauty in it. A large staircase descended down into what was probably a basement. It was surrounded by shelves holding all sorts of things, and looking around, Frisk could see there were more in the other rooms. There were plenty of books, and they could see a table and some chairs as well. They were sure it extended much farther than they could see, too. It was nice and clean and tidy and...it just felt like home.

A smell was floating through the building, impossible to describe. Whatever it was, it seemed to lift Toriel's spirits when she smelled it. They looked up at her, unsure of what it was, and she gave them an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, my child. I wanted to make you a butterscotch-cinnamon pie to celebrate you coming here, but I was unable to find the right ingredients... So tonight, we'll have to have snail pie instead. I hope you don't mind."

Frisk gave her a small smile. They weren't sure they'd like it (it didn't sound all that good, honestly), but they appreciated the sentiment. At the very least, they'd give it a try. Toriel's smile grew bigger.

"Well, enough about that. I have something to show you," she told them. "Please come with me."

She held out her hand, and they took it. Together, they walked down the east hall to a room on their left.

"Here it is!" she announced. "It's your own room. I hope you like it...I want you to be happy here."

It was pretty clear now, if not before, that she intended for Frisk to stay with her. Another clear fact, one they should've realized before now, was that she had made the Ruins her home. They had thought that they could go farther with her, continue through the Underground together...

She gently, carefully pat their head, running her giant paws through their hair. They leaned over, letting her leg support some of their weight. They stood like this for a minute, until an even worse smell began drifting through the house.

"Is something burning...?" Toriel asked herself. She quickly pulled herself away from Frisk, an ungenuine smile on her face. "Um...make yourself at home!" She ran off without another word.

Her offer was very tempting. She was one of the kindest monsters this place had to offer, and they'd definitely be safe if they stayed with her. They really did want to stay with her, too. She was warm, and kind, and...she was all the things a mother should be. Better than any mother they'd had before coming here, anyway. And in their mind, she already was their mother, had been for awhile. They truly wanted to stay with her.

But they had places to go.

Frisk opened the door to the room they'd been given. It was dark inside, but they were able to turn on a lamp in the corner to lighten it up. The room was small. A bed sat in the other corner, and it was littered with a few chests. None of the chests contained anything interesting, just old toys and shoes. A blank, dusty picture frame sat on top of the one filled with shoes, but that didn't hold much interest for them either. It wasn't until they searched the closet that anything caught their attention.

It was filled with striped sweaters, just like the one they were wearing. Their own, blue with two thin, pink stripes, even seemed to be made of a similar material to the rest. The sweaters were a variety of colors, and they had different numbers of stripes of different sizes. On a shelf below them sat several pairs of plain black shorts, neat and folded. These were all a variety of sizes, but from a glance, it looked like most of these would fit them.

What was going on here?

The last thing they turned their attention to was the bed. Just a normal, twin-size bed. It was neatly made and clean, as if it had been waiting for them. Perhaps it had been.

Toriel had healed them, but even still the ordeal of getting through the Ruins left them exhausted. She was letting them stay, and she'd said to make themselves at home... At the very least, they could rest before they continued. One small, tired human wasn't going to make much progress in a place like this.

Not even bothering to take off their shoes, they crawled into bed and fell asleep.


	3. Patience

**I know I said I'd be updating this with two chapters at once, and that still holds! It's just late and I don't have it in me to spruce up chapter 4 right now. But I have it all down, so don't worry, it's only a couple of days away.**

 **If memory serves, this chapter's a little short, but I hope it's still reached the point where it starts catching your interest. This is where it really starts deviating from the canon hard mode, and it only deviates more from here! I hope this is an interesting path. I certainly like it, but I hope other people do too.**

 **I also have a page on my tumblr where I've been keeping track of notes I've made and character designs and such...you can check that out if you want. I'll link it in my profile just in case someone wants it. But you don't have to, and it's certainly not necessary to the story, so don't worry about it if you don't want to. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _A dark room._

 _"Are you sure you want to go alone? I can help, too... We can do this together."_

 _*I'll be okay. You've all done so much for me; it's the least I can do for everyone._

 _"Well, okay...if you're sure. But be careful, okay? Make sure you come back. Even if it means giving up, stay determined to live...to come back."_

 _*Okay. I will. But I don't plan on giving up, either. I want to be able to give something back, and I won't fail, for your sake._

 _"You heard what I said, right, _? You're more important than the plan."_

 _*I know. It'll be alright, I'll come back as soon as I get them. You'll barely notice I was gone._

 _A smile._

* * *

The room, bright before, was dark when Frisk woke up. For a moment they were confused, before realizing the lamp in the corner must have been turned off. Toriel probably came in earlier to check on them.

They sat up and got out of bed. It took very little effort, even though they had just woken up. They felt strangely awake, alert, resolute. It wasn't often they felt this energized from waking up; perhaps it was the dream they had? They could barely remember what it had been about, but they were even more sure now they couldn't stay here.

Frisk didn't take more than a step before their foot brushed against something on the floor. Looking down, they saw it was a piece of pie (snail pie, judging by the look and the smell). Toriel had definitely been here, the pie hadn't been done when they fell asleep. They picked it up and decided to save it for later, in case they needed it. It was thrown into a bag with several of the changes of clothes that had been left for them in the closet. Their current clothes went in the bag, too, replaced by a green sweater with a single yellow stripe, and a fresh pair of black shorts. They were ready.

But before they left, they at least wanted to say goodbye. After bringing them this far and giving them pie, Frisk knew she deserved at least that much, along with their thanks. She deserved better, too, but they couldn't go back on their choice.

They found her in the family room. She was sitting in a chair by the fire, reading. 72 Uses for Snails...they weren't surprised.

"Are you awake already, my child?" Toriel looked up over her book and beamed at them. They returned her smile, a little hesitantly. "I hope you can make yourself at home here. There's so much I want to show you, so many things I want you to learn... I've already prepared a curriculum for your education. I hope you can be happy here."

The smile dropped from Frisk's face. She really wanted them to stay, didn't she? Part of them still wished they could.

"Is something wrong, child?" She frowned as she saw their expression shift. "Is there something you need?"

They looked away for a moment, before asking if it was okay if they left.

"My child, I..." she trailed off. Carefully, Toriel put her book down and stood up. "...There's something I need to do. Please wait for me here." She ran out of the room quickly, heading back towards the house's entrance.

Frisk had a bad feeling. Once she was gone, they followed her. They could no longer see her, but they could hear her walking down the stairs. Carefully, quietly, they continued after her. A long pathway stretched out at the end of the stairs. They caught up to her without meaning to.

"At the end of this path..." There was a false cheeriness to Toriel's voice now. "...there is a doorway. A one-way exit out of the Ruins, to the rest of the Underground. The way to get out of the Ruins. I am going to destroy it."

The last sentence sliced through like a knife. There was no way they could be stuck here. Toriel started hurrying ahead, but Frisk ran just as fast, committed to keeping up. They had to stop her.

"You naive child..." She stopped again, looking back at them. "You don't understand. If you leave the Ruins, the monsters out there...they'll destroy you. I'm only doing this for your own safety. You must understand. Go back to your room."

If they were concerned about their safety, they would have stopped a long time ago.

"So you won't go back..." The two had now reached a large door, probably the exit from the Ruins. Toriel stopped here and turned around, emotion wiped off of her face. "If you really want to leave, you must prove yourself. Prove to me you'll be able to survive out there."

Frisk could only stare up at her, their eyes widening. What did she mean by that?

Without another word, Toriel waved one of her hands through the air. Blue flames appeared all over the room, dancing across the floor and making their way towards Frisk. Frisk forced themself to move, just barely dodging them in time. Flames remained scattered around the room, but for the moment none were approaching. Frisk took the opportunity to talk. They asked her what she was doing, what was going on.

She did not answer. She was still facing them, but she almost seemed to be looking through them, rather than at them. Both her hands waved through the air this time, and two lines of blue fire appeared on the edges of the room. Both lines of flame homed in on Frisk at once, and Frisk had to be extremely careful to completely dodge them both.

They weren't successful. One of their arms got burned by a stray flame. Whimpering, they grasped at the burn and begged, pleaded Toriel to stop. It didn't seem like she was listening. She only sent more flames at them in patterns they could just barely dodge. Talking wasn't getting them anywhere, but there had to be another way to get her to stop.

This time, Frisk did nothing. They mimicked her behavior, their expression devoid of emotion (once they wiped the tears from their eyes) and saying nothing. They couldn't think of anything better they could do.

"...What are you doing?" Toriel asked.

A hint of a smile flickered on Frisk's face. That had gotten a reaction. They could get through this with sheer determination.

Large, broken rings of fire appeared along the edges of the room and spiraled their way towards Frisk. Each ring had a gap in it, plenty big enough for Frisk to squeeze through safely. The only problem was judging where those gaps would be as the rings moved, but Frisk managed to make it through without taking too much damage. They continued to say nothing, just watching and waiting to see what Toriel would do next.

"Stop," she said as her expression hardened. "Do not do this, child."

The rings of fire she had used before appeared, but these were different. The gaps last time were filled, completing the rings. However, some of the flames in each ring were different, more of an aqua color. The flames were too tall for Frisk to jump over, and with no other options, they froze up. They waited for the incoming burns as the rings spiraled towards the center once more, but...it never came. The aqua flames had moved through them painlessly, and they were unscathed (at least, from that attack).

Aqua flames didn't hurt.

"Go back to your room." Frisk still refused to take any sort of action; doing nothing was getting exactly the response they wanted. Toriel was no longer looking them in the eye, but she continued her attacks. This time, most of the flames surrounding them were aqua instead of blue. Frisk threw themself at them, expecting they'd be fine, but this time it hurt. A lot. They stopped, whimpering, and the flames moved safely past them again. After a moment, they realized the flames weren't hurting them anymore.

Aqua flames didn't hurt as long as they didn't move.

This was a nice realization, but it wasn't going to do them much good. Frisk was in a lot of pain from all the burns on their body, and they probably couldn't keep up this dodging for much longer. They simply stared at Toriel, waiting.

"Attack or leave," she demanded. Long lines of flames began crossing each other across the room, blue and aqua flames interspersed among the lines. It was difficult to tell at a glance (they looked almost the same), so Frisk just attempted to dodge them all. This proved unsuccessful, with so many moving so quickly, as it wasn't long before a blue flame ran through Frisk, burning them again. However, this time the attack stopped as soon as Frisk was hurt. They were lucky; they weren't sure they could've lasted much longer in that attack.

Frisk stared pleadingly up at Toriel, wanting her to stop. But she still wouldn't meet their gaze, and she showed no signs of backing down. Sighing, they prepared themself for the next attack. It could be the last.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. Her tone was getting increasingly harsher and colder, and now she didn't even seem curious, just frustrated. This time, her attack consisted of nothing but aqua flames. Frisk stayed put where they were, and they got through perfectly safe.

Toriel sighed, now putting a stop to her attacks. "Child, I know you want to go...but you must understand. The monsters out there...Asgore...they'll kill you." The few flames left in the room disappeared as she forced her gaze onto them again. "It's for your own safety. Be a good child...go upstairs."

They shook their head.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" Toriel chuckled to herself, clearly finding much more humor in this than Frisk did. "I can't even save a single child's life. I never could. I've seen it again and again...and it's just the same now."

There was no visible reaction from Frisk. They were determined to continue, no matter what was said.

She looked away again, closing her eyes. "No, I understand. This is no place for a child to stay. The Ruins are too small, and the monsters are more aggressive here, too. No, whatever I feel or want, I have to put it aside. I know you must go, my child."

They let out a breath they didn't realize they were holding. Quickly, they ran forward and wrapped their arms around her legs, mumbling their thanks into her dress. With a smile, she knelt down and pulled them towards her in a hug that they happily returned. They stayed like this for a minute or two, before she eventually pulled away.

"Do not worry, my child. If you can ever find a way back to the Ruins, you are always welcome back here. Whether it is a small visit or you change your mind, I will always be happy to see you again."

Toriel slowly got up and started walking back towards the rest of the house. She only looked back for a moment, before walking back even faster. All too soon, she was gone. But they would see her again.

Now Frisk was alone in the room, their only company the door opposite of them. This must have been the exit Toriel had said she was going to destroy. (Or, at the very least, the exit was beyond here; they were close, they could feel it.) There was nowhere to go now but forward. They couldn't give up now. Carefully, they opened it and stepped through.

On the other side of the door was a room that almost looked completely empty. Frisk thought it actually was, until they saw a golden flower sitting in the middle of the room. It was the same one as before, hunched over the same way. They shyed away from it. If it wanted to fight again, they wanted no part of it.

"...Don't worry, it's okay. I get it now." Flowey looked up at them, a sad smile on its face. "You don't recognize me like this, do you? It's okay. I wouldn't, either." Its smile faded. "But you know how it feels, right? No one's recognized you, either."

Frisk said nothing. The flower's attitude was completely different now, this behavior feeling much more familiar than the way it acted before. It caught them a bit off guard, but they still wanted to be careful. They definitely didn't want to upset it again.

"...Don't hold it against her. It's not her fault. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm sure you'll see she's not the only one. It doesn't matter, anyway. We can still finish this together, just like we planned, right?"

That plan again... Frisk hadn't remembered right after they fell, but the way it talked about it, there was an almost sentimental ring to it. They frowned, trying to piece things together in their head. Had they met this flower before after all?

Not bothered by the silence, it went on. "It's okay. I know you didn't trick me. You just... you're just getting them now, aren't you?" Flowey laughed quietly. "It won't be easy... They're not all together, like we thought. But you can do it, I'm sure of it. In fact..." It smiled up at them. "...you already found one!"

It laughed as it watched the shift in Frisk's expression. "You didn't even know? Golly, you're off to a better start than you thought! And you'll find the rest in no time, I'm sure."

Frisk took a step forward, carefully formulating the question in their mind before speaking. "Have we...met before? Who are you?"

"Me?" Flowey smiled. "Don't let little old me hold you up. You have better things to do."

Before Frisk could protest, he popped back into the ground. He was gone.

* * *

 **No one remembers.**

 **As an important note, there's a distinction between Toriel's blue and aqua flames. The aqua flames function as blue attacks you'd see later on in the Underground. The blue flames...in an actual fight in an Undertale game, they'd be white like Toriel's regular attacks. But since we're not in the Undertale game, they look blue. I hope that's not confusing.**

 **On a music note, I guess...the theme for this fight would be a remix of Heartache and ASGORE, with possibly some parts of Fallen Down sprinkled in. One thing that's fun for me with this story is imagining what some of the background music for it would be, so this isn't the last time I'll mention something like this.**


	4. Tension

**And here's chapter 4...this one's a little long, so it makes up for the last one being a bit short! It just about evens out, which works for me. It's probably not really noticeable anyway, I just want to keep them all sort of even, at least for now.**

 **This one, I'm...not overly fond of. I was glad to get out of the Ruins because I'm not good at writing Toriel, but I'm not that great with writing Sans, either! Oh, well, he's not going to be doing that much, you know? I can deal.**

* * *

The chill in the air was the first thing to hit Frisk after leaving the Ruins for good. The temperature was significantly colder out here, and snow blanketed the area as far as their eyes could see. It was almost like winter on the surface, since the weather underground wasn't changing anytime soon.

There was nowhere to go but forward, so Frisk began walking. The path on the ground lead straight ahead into the woods, and since they had no other clues on where to go, they decided to follow it. At the very least, they should be able to find someone and get directions.

However, the further they got into the forest, the more they began to regret their decision. These woods were very unsettling; it was something about how tall the trees were, the way the snow covered the area, how empty it was... There was a horrible feeling of being watched, too. Was it Flowey? Was Toriel looking out at them, keeping an eye on them? Or was someone planning an attack? A stick sat in Frisk's path, and they tested it quickly with their feet. It was too heavy to pick up, and too hard and thick to even bend. They decided to leave it alone and walked on.

When they were a few feet away from the stick, there was a loud snap. They turned around, and saw it had been smashed to pieces, as if it were a small twig.

They were definitely being watched, and whoever was watching them was dangerous.

Still, they went on, acting as if none of this was bothering them. If they didn't act threatened, maybe whoever this was would leave them alone... It was a comforting thought, at least.

They only made it a couple of yards before they reached a barrier. A large gate sat in front of them, blocking a bridge to lead them forward. Thick bars jutted down into the ground, keeping them stuck on this side. Frisk swallowed their fear and began looking for a way around. They couldn't act frightened now. There had to be a way, they couldn't give up.

Frisk froze when they heard footsteps behind them. Any time they'd had to run away just ran out. They would just have to be prepared for the worst. If they'd managed to get through the Ruins, they could handle this, right? (They had more doubts about that than they wanted to admit.)

The hair on the back of their neck rose as whoever was behind them began to speak, their voice slow and menacing.

" n. D o n ' ? d."

Frisk was terrified. They didn't know what would happen next. But they decided to take a risk. Squeezing their eyes shut, they turned around. Their hand found the stranger's in the air, and they grabbed it for a handshake. A handshake...wasn't what they got.

A small shock went through their hand. Immediately, they cried out and pulled away, gently rubbing the palm of their hand. Part of it still hurt from the shock. They'd been expecting much worse, but they weren't thrilled about this, either.

On reflex, Frisk's eyes had flown open when they pulled away as well. Now they could get a good look at who had followed them. Honestly, they were expecting someone scarier.

In front of them was a short, pudgy skeleton. Eye sockets sat where his eyes would have been, with tiny glowing lights appearing to be how he saw. He was dressed in a nice blue violet sweater and black slacks. The collar of a white dress shirt pocket up around his neck, and his feet sat inside blue sneakers. A tiny white heart sat on the bottom edge of his sweater. One of his hands, both covered with blue mittens, was wrapped in a joy buzzer. Other than that, the object of their frustration, they thought he looked nice.

As he got a good look at their own face, he looked just as surprised as they were for a moment. He quickly masked it with a grin that didn't quite look sincere.

"heh, the old joy buzzer trick," the skeleton chuckled. "gets 'em every time."

Frisk's face scrunched up as they continued rubbing the palm of their hand.

"what, you didn't like it? huh. guess i need a new act." The skeleton shrugged, not appearing overly concerned. "nice to meet ya, kid. the name's sans. sans the skeleton. i'm a sentry, supposed to be on the lookout for humans like you, but i'd really rather make 'em laugh. capturing 'em's not my thing."

They tilted their head to one side.

"hey, what's with that look? gotta do something with my life, right? besides..." Sans smirked down at them. "i'd rather let my bro papyrus handle that stuff, anyway. see, he _really_ wants to catch a human. it may not be my favorite thing, but him? capturing you would make his day."

They frowned. They couldn't really afford to be captured by Papyrus, whoever that was. They had places to go and things to do, and none of it could wait. But before they could really think of a way to respond, he interrupted their thoughts.

"look at that, here he comes now. you know, the bars on this gate are pretty far apart." He looked away from them and up at the gate, his smile growing bigger. "it'd be a shame if you found a way through somehow."

Frisk turned and studied the gate. Sans was right; they could probably walk through easily. They ran past the gate and up ahead, intent on not being seen by Papyrus. Sans followed them through, still smiling to himself.

"huh, looks like there's a conveniently shaped lamp near the station. i'd hate to think what'd happen if you hid behind it and my bro didn't see you."

Their head turned swiftly to see the lamp in question. They could hear someone approaching, a voice getting louder and footsteps getting closer. Without a second thought, they dove behind the lamp and positioned themself so they wouldn't be seen. It was in the nick of time, too. They were fast enough that the monster approaching didn't see them. Quietly, they sat and waited until the coast was clear.

"hey, bro, how's it going?" they heard Sans say.

"DON'T YOU 'hey, bro' ME, SANS!" another voice shouted. They assumed this must be Papyrus. "WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING OUT HERE? YOUR PUZZLES HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED FOR DAYS, AND I'M SURPRISED YOU'RE NOT TAKIN A NAP!"

"i've been checking out this cool lamp. found it at the dump the other day. wanna take a look?"

For a second, Frisk felt their heart race.

"NO! THERE'S NO TIME FOR THAT! WE HAVE TO BE READY, SANS! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH?"

The response came at a relief. Thankfully, it didn't sound like Papyrus had any interest in Sans' suggestion. They couldn't risk looking and seeing his expression, but it certainly sounded like the idea frustrated him.

"don't worry, bro. i'd know if a human came through," Sans assured him. "i've been keeping..." He paused, and Frisk could practically hear him grinning. "...an _eye socket_ out."

"SANS! THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR PUNS!" Papyrus yelled. "THERE'S NO TIME TO WASTE! I HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO CAPTURE A HUMAN! IT'S MY ONLY CHANCE AT GETTING INTO THE ROYAL GUARD! THEN I'LL HAVE EVERYTHING I DESERVE! PRESTIGE, POPULARITY...FRIENDS, EVEN!"

"heh, you sound pretty dedicated, bro," Sans commented. "you know, maybe that lamp could help you."

For a brief second, they wanted to punch him.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Something hit the ground. It sounded like someone stomping a foot; they assumed it was Papyrus. "YOU GET LAZIER EVERY DAY! ALL YOU EVER DO IS NAP!"

"come on, bro, i've gotten a ton of work today," Sans insisted. "a skele- _ton_."

Somehow, Frisk heard a drum sting, as if they were in some comedy show. They didn't think there were drums anywhere nearby...what was going on? They wished they could see.

"SANS!" Papyrus shouted indignantly.

"you know you love it, bro."

Papyrus sighed, assumedly deciding to ignore that last comment. "...WHY DOES IT TAKE SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION? ALL THIS WORK TRYING TO CAPTURE A HUMAN... I'M NOT SURE IF IT'LL EVEN PAY OFF."

"aw, come on bro. don't think like that. i'm sure they'll let you in the royal guard soon. after all, you've been working yourself..." Sans paused once again. "...down to the _bone_."

Another sting could be heard. By now, Frisk was struggling not to laugh.

They didn't hear any sort of reaction from Papyrus, but when Sans started speaking again, they could guess well enough.

"heh. you're smiling, bro."

"I AM AND I HATE IT." He was trying to sound mad, but his voice gave away the elevation in his mood. "BUT YOU'RE RIGHT FOR ONCE, SANS. I CAN'T GIVE UP WHEN THERE'S STILL A CHANCE! AFTER ALL, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Papyrus stopped for half a second, reveling in his own greatness. "IF I CAPTURE A HUMAN, THEY'LL HAVE NO CHOICE. THEY'LL HAVE TO LET ME IN!"

"now you're talking, bro." Sans sounded happier too, probably glad to see his brother in better spirits.

"OF COURSE I AM! I'M GOING TO RE-RECALIBRATE MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK, YOU SHOULD PUT A LITTLE MORE..." Frisk heard him fighting down a snicker. "...BACKBONE INTO IT!"

Several footsteps clomped through the snow. Papyrus' voice "NYEH HEH HEH!"-ed away with it, gradually getting farther away until he was completely out of earshot.

Frisk still didn't move. They had to make sure it was still safe. What if he came back? What if someone else showed up? Sans was still there...they thought. Would he tell them when it was safe? They had two many questions and no answers. But caution was the best policy, so they stayed. Nothing happened for a couple of minutes. Then, their patience paid off.

Footsteps rapidly approached from the same direction Papyrus came from. A voice, assumedly his, uttered one last "HEH!" before running off again.

"alright, kid. you can come out now," they heard Sans say.

Carefully, they got themselves up and walked back into the open. No one else was around but Sans, who was grinning in the direction they thought Papyrus had left in. A bit more confident that they were in the clear, they reached down and brushed off the snow that was currently all over their legs. They were cold already, walking around all wet would make going through this wintery area a lot more miserable.

"you don't have to worry, kid," Sans told them. He was looking at them out of the corner of his eye now, grin still in place. "he's not coming back. and even if he does, you'll just have to sit through more of my jokes."

Unable to hold back a giggle, they grinned back at him. For many, puns were one of the worst forms of humor. But Frisk didn't mind them at all. In their opinion, puns were just as funny as any other joke. They really had almost blown their cover, struggling not to laugh at Sans' jokes when Papyrus was around.

He turned his head and winked at them. "did ya like them? i'm always glad to have a good audience, _tibia_ -nest. my bro doesn't care much for my jokes.

They laughed again, their smile growing even bigger. They could feel the tension _melting_ away (because of the snow and ice? They were proud of that one, but decided not to share it) between them, and they started to relax. With monsters as nice as Sans and Toriel around, their journey wouldn't be quite so bad.

"say, uh, kid. i know you're having fun, but do you think you could do me a favor?" The smile that had mostly been plastered onto Sans' face thus far dropped into a thin frown. "i'm sure you're not looking to get captured or anything. but, you see..." He looked away, his gaze burrowing into the ground below. "my brother's been pretty down lately. he really wants to catch a human. it's his only chance of getting into the royal guard. so, uh, i'm not asking you to get caught or anything. but at least seeing you, it'd probably make his day. so...uh..." He looked back up at them again, a hesitant smile forming. "what do you say?"

Frisk frowned, takin a step back. So much for eased tensions. They definitely didn't want to face any more powerful monsters. Toriel was bad enough, and she was trying _not_ to hurt them too much. They'd heard the way Papyrus talked earlier. He really wanted to get into the royal guard. They had their doubts about their well-being if they actually had to face him.

Sans saw this and sighed. "i know what you're thinking kid. he's strong, gotta give him that. but honestly, he's harmless. he wouldn't hurt a fly. you'll be as safe as you can be, kid. and besides, i'll keep an eye socket out for ya. make sure you're safe. so even if something happens, you'll be fine. papyrus will be happy and you can go do whatever it is you human kids do."

With this added information, they weren't sure. They tilted their head, weighing the pros and the cons in their mind. After a couple of minutes of thought, they beamed and nodded.

"thanks a million, buddy." Sans grinned at them again. This time, however, it felt more...authentic, like he really meant it. "i'll be waiting up ahead."

He spun around and walked back towards the woods. Frisk wasn't sure how that worked. But now they were doubly committed. They had no choice but to go forward.

* * *

 **Hmm...**


	5. Misconstrual

**Hey guys! Here's the next batch of Hardtale chapters! Sorry this took so long...a lot of stuff's come up. Been dealing with medical issues, some emergencies have come up, and I was babysitting for awhile. Not to mention Jaspertale came up, and I got wrapped up in that and this kinda fell to the side a bit, mostly because of Doggo. This is all Doggo's fault. But we're back!**

 **As we go on, I may start omitting little details, and I'm not paying attention to every little thing. For example, I completely glossed over the Nice Cream Guy, don't even mention him in passing. It's safe to assume if I don't mention anything, it's not any different! This is a Hard Mode au at its core, so of course a lot of things won't change. Though, keep in mind, there's already been two exceptions to this rule, which were left out from sheer forgetfulness...and both will come up in Waterfall, anyway.**

 **Anyway, to make it up to you I guess, this batch is a little longer than usual. Mostly my own fault, I paced things pretty badly and had more to happen after I would've finished, but not enough to be its own chapter. There's too much coming up next to shove it in the chapter after these, so I've thrown it in the chapter after this. But I don't plan on making this a habit.**

* * *

A fork in the path interrupted Frisk's trek through the snowy forest. There were two paths to take now; one veered off to the right, while the other continued straight ahead. While they decided what to do, they took a look at the area around them.

Snow that had long since fallen from the air now sat on tree branches. Small flakes would flutter down from a few branches here or there, as if it were attempting to convince someone it actually was snowing. Around here everything was quiet and peaceful. The snow that blanketed the ground was undisturbed. Finally, Frisk had a chance to take a deep breath and relax a little.

It filled them with determination.

Their head now clear, they decided to take the path continuing forward. Sans had said he'd be waiting up ahead; that was what he meant, right? Well, they'd find out either way.

But, before they went on, they checked out a box on the side of the road. According to the sign next to it, anything put in the box would show up in any other box in the Underground. They could free up their backpack without getting rid of anything. That could be useful... Carefully, they slid the backpack off their back and sat it on the ground. For now, the only thing that they'd put in the box was the slice they still had of Toriel's pie. They wanted to save it for later, when they could enjoy it. And somehow it was still perfectly preserved; the slice was complete intact and not even a crumb was left in the clothes they were keeping on hand. The pie slice was sat lightly at the bottom of the box. Frisk hoped no one else would find it and take it.

That deed taken care of, they continued on down the path.

They didn't make it far down before they could make out two shapes ahead. One seemed rather short. They assumed it was Sans, which meant this was the right way after all. That was good. They didn't want to accidentally break a promise.

A few seconds later, the two shapes were in clear view. The shorter one was definitely Sans. He and the other figure were turned towards each other, deep in conversation.

"i get you, bro. that sounds _reel_ -y terrible to me," Sans joked.

Without missing a beat came the others' groan. Frisk recognized it immediately as Papyrus. "I JUST DON'T GET WHY UNDYNE..."

Catching their movement from the corner of his eye, Papyrus trailed off and turned to look at them. Now, for the first time, Frisk could actually get a good look of Sans' brother.

His attire reminded them of halloween costumes for adults from the surface. He was dressed almost head to toe in what looked like some sort of knight costume. The white armor sparkled in a way that made them positive it wasn't real armor. Giant pink gloves with small white hearts on them covered his hands. An orange bandana was tied around his neck and stuck out over the armor, and a long red scarf was tied around his waist as if it were some kind of belt. The only piece of armor from the knight costume that was missing was the helmet, allowing them to see his face in its entirety. He was a skeleton like Sans, which didn't surprise him. He was much taller and skinnier, and his face was...not at all menacing.

His outfit was goofy, too. Honestly, they really were expecting more from these skeletons that were supposed to be capturing them. They certainly weren't about to complain about it, and it's not like they wanted to get captured, but...

Papyrus turned back towards Sans, who turned to look at Frisk. Then Sans turned back towards Papyrus, and Papyrus turned towards them again. The two repeated this action a few times before they started in rapid complete circles. Frisk couldn't help but smile a little. Both skeletons stopped spinning and simply stumbled in place.

"I'M DIZZY...SANS, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? IS IT A HUMAN?" Papyrus asked. He reached out for a tree and leaned against it to try to regain his composure.

Sans, however, had recovered already. He looked past Frisk with a smile. "huh? nah, i think that's just a rock."

"...OH." Papyrus looked past them and saw the rock just behind them as well. This clearly wasn't the revelation he was looking for.

"...hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Sans shifted his gaze over, now looking straight at Frisk.

Papyrus followed suit, now seeing them too. "OH MY GOD!" He bent down towards Sans and lowered his voice to a whisper. Even his whispers, not surprisingly, were still loud enough that Frisk could still hear him. "IS THAT A HUMAN?"

Sans said something back, which they couldn't hear, but they assumed it was a confirmation.

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus's face lit up into the biggest grin possible. "I CAN...I'M GONNA BE...I'LL..." He stammered like this for a moment, practically speechless. But then he quickly stopped himself. The grin fell into something more serious, and he spoke clearly now. "HUMAN!"

They blinked, paying full attention now.

"PREPARE YOURSELF! FOR HIGH JINKS AND LOW JINKS! PUZZLES AND DANGER! CAPERS AND JAPERS! BEING CAPTURED! AND MANY OTHER FUN ACTIVITIES!"

They swallowed. He certainly sounded a lot more serious than he looked. Was he really as harmless as Sans had said? Maybe they shouldn't have agreed to this, shouldn't risk getting captured...

"REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED... IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

They rescinded that last thought as they watched him run off, probably to prepare whatever he had in store. They had no idea what to expect, but they could take it, whatever it was. And refreshments? They were all in now.

Sans turned to watch his brother go as well. Once Papyrus was out of sight, he turned around to face Frisk again. A huge grin was plastered onto his face, though it looked a bit strained. They weren't sure how sincere it actually was. "i owe ya one, kid. my bro hasn't looked this happy in a long time. though, i gotta say...you look a lot more confident about this than before. what's up with that?"

Frisk smiled. They could handle a few puzzles. And Papyrus didn't seem all that bad. They were certain that there'd be a way around him without getting into a fight, or being captured.

"huh." He looked them up and down before chuckling under his breath. "alright then, kid. still, i'll watch out for ya. you never know what could happen." He winked at them with his right eye and went off, following his brother.

Frisk followed after the duo more slowly, still in good spirits. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all. There were monsters here that seemed friendly enough, no one was attacking them-

They had to hold that thought. A monster pulled them into battle. It looked like a large, snowy bird, but...much larger and more menacing than any bird should be. The monster ruffled up its feathers and spread its wings, sending feather-shaped ice shards flying at them.

" _Ice_ to meet you!" the monster quipped, watching them dodge the attack perfectly.

Another comedian who joked with puns? What, did they all gather in cold places and huddle up and tell each other their jokes? Well, it could be worse. It wasn't like they hated puns or anything.

"That not enough for you? I can keep going, _snow_ problem," it said. Carefully, it shot a bright projectile goo at them. It was hard to miss and it moved slowly enough that it was easy to dodge.

At this second pun, Frisk had to laugh. Puns were flying them from all directions from multiple monsters, but it didn't make them any less funny.

The bird monster dropped its aggressive pose. "Heh, laughs! Dad was wrong!" It wiped a tear from its eye and grinned at them. "Even if you're a human, thank you. I appreciate it."

They smiled back at it. Both appeased, they left each other alone. The bird ran off the path and into the woods, chattering about how it was going to tell all its friends. No longer interrupted, Frisk continued forward on the path.

Ahead, Frisk could see a sentry station. There had been a few littered here and there along the path, but this one was different. It was taller, sturdier, and was enclosed with four walls, unlike the others, which were just small little stands. As they approached it, they could see a little bell sitting in the station. It didn't look like anyone was inside, but they rang it anyway.

A cat's face rose up from under the window. It looked around, looking confused and somewhat annoyed. "Who's there?"

They stared directly at the cat, both in plain view of the other.

"I can only see things that move," it hissed. "If something did move, like a human for example, I'll make sure it never moves again!"

The cat jumped out from its station. It scanned the area, but still didn't seem to see Frisk, or anything else. The cat growled to itself, trying to figure out if someone was actually there or not. They stayed as still as possible in the meantime, in order to not give themself away. Eventually, the cat nodded to itself and seemed to decide. On what, they weren't sure.

It turned away and began to walk, on its way out of the area. Frisk almost sighed with relief but kept their guard up, just in case, until he was gone.

That never happened. The cat spun back around without warning and threw a knife, which glowed with blue magic. They hadn't moved, so he hadn't seen them, but by chance (or perhaps something else. Could it smell them?) he'd thrown it directly at them. They tensed up and started to dodge before realizing this was a blue attack, and remembering what that meant. Quickly correcting themself, they went still and didn't move an inch. The attack went harmlessly through them.

But it was just enough.

"There!" it hissed. "A human! I saw it!"

Now it knew exactly where they were. The cat threw more knives at them, aiming with deadly accuracy. These attacks weren't blue, forcing Frisk to keep moving and dodge. The more they moved, the longer the cat was able to see them, and it only resulted in more attacks. A few cat treats (partially smoked, Frisk would note later) got thrown into the mix as well, which were a bit easier to dodge, but still needed to be avoided. There wasn't going to end unless one of two things happened. Either Frisk would be defeated, or somehow the cat would have to be unable to see them. All Frisk needed to do now was find a way to stay still and not get hit.

Taking a chance when they could, Frisk dove behind a tree and pulled their limbs in close. The cat kept throwing knives, at the tree and to the sides, but the tree kept them safe. It took any attacks aimed directly at them, and was thick enough that any stray knives didn't nick them. The cat slowed down after awhile, then eventually it stopped. It was clear they weren't coming out any time soon, and since they weren't moving, it couldn't see them, either. With nothing it could do, the cat left.

Frisk let out the breath they'd been holding and finally came out from behind the tree. They continued on, in the same direction the cat had went, but purposely slow so as to not run into it again. But they weren't left alone for long. Sure enough, it was only a minute or two before they ran into Sans.

"hey," he greeted them, grin plastered on as usual. They smiled brightly at him. "my brother has a special attack. he uses blue attacks, so i was gonna warn you all about 'em. but..." He turned to look to look behind them for a moment, then his gaze snapped back to them. His smile was growing thin. "seems like you already know how they work. guess you've already seen them before, huh? wonder what's up with that."

They frowned. It wasn't like only monsters in Snowdin used blue attacks. Of course they knew about them, after the battle they'd had with Toriel. What was up with _him_? What kind of accusation was that?

"well. see ya at the next puzzle, i guess." He shrugged. Frisk stared at him, trying to read the expression on his face, but couldn't figure out what was on his mind. After a moment, he walked away, back towards where they came. He always seemed to do that whenever he went ahead. Weird skeleton.

The path ahead was covered completely in ice. Going ahead seemed simple enough, all they had to do was slide forward until they were on the other side. So they did so. But it was more challenging than it looked. About halfway through, they fell over and glided the rest of the way on their stomach. It wasn't ideal, but hey, at least they got across safely. Once they made it, they got up, brushed some snow off their sweater, and went on.

Not too far ahead, Papyrus and Sans were waiting, and arguing from the sounds of it. What looked like just the empty ground sprawled out between them and Frisk. But with what the Underground had had to offer so far, it probably wasn't as simple as that. They'd figure it out soon enough.

"...SO LAZY!" Papyrus was saying. "YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!"

"i think that's called sleeping," Sans told him.

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!" Papyrus grumbled, looking away indignantly. As he did so, he spotted Frisk, which immediately put a smile back on his face. "OHO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!"

Sans looked over at them and waved.

"I THINK YOU'LL FIND THIS ONE TO BE...QUITE SHOCKING!" He grinned. Sans snorted beside him. "FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE! YOU CAN TRY TO WALK THROUGH, BUT UNLESS YOU TAKE THE CORRECT PATH..." He held up a small orb, showing it to them. "THIS ORB WILL SHOCK YOU!" He handed the orb to Sans. "SANS, PLEASE IVE THE HUMAN THE ORB."

"gotcha." Suddenly, Sans was standing right next to them. He sat the orb on top of their head and smiled. "don't drop it, kid." Before they knew it, he was standing next to Papyrus. How did that happen? They hadn't seen him move at all.

"DOES IT SOUND LIKE FUN? BECAUSE, WELL..." Papyrus frowned for a moment. "THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU'LL HAVE IS RATHER SMALL, I THINK." Then he shrugged and cackled, his grin returning. "TRY TO MAKE IT THROUGH, IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Carefully, Frisk took a single step forward. They winced, but there was no shock. They were on the right path. But there was no way the maze was just a straight path. They'd have to turn sometime, and they'd definitely get shocked before they figured out where. They'd have to feel it out as they went.

Slowly going forward, they went on until they actually were shocked. Fortunately, it was harmless, and no worse than Sans' joy buzzer. Frisk tried to turn one way, only to be shocked again. They'd have to turn the other way. So they did, and went on. They followed the same strategy, throughout, sure to take their time. Papyrus and Sans, waiting patiently, didn't seem to mind. In fact, Papyrus was watching the concentration and care they put into each step, and appeared ecstatic. When they reached the end of the maze, he was beaming at them.

"EXCELLENT!" he praised them. "YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY! YOU MUST REALLY CARE ABOUT PUZZLES, LIKE I DO! BUT DON'T WORRY, HUMAN. THE NEXT ONE WON'T BE SO EASY." He gestured over to Sans, who was still standing next to him. "IN FACT, IT'S MADE MY BROTHER SANS, SO IT'S SURE TO CONFOUND YOU! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH!" Smiling, Papyrus took the orb off Frisk's head, pat their head gently, and slide backwards away from the maze.

Sans watched him go with a smile. Frisk approached him, wondering why he was still around. His eyes flicked over to them.

"man, i haven't seen my brother this happy in a long time. you're really making his day. thanks, kid, i owe ya." He winked. "and keep up the good work. i'm counting on ya."

Frisk stared at him for a moment, then shrugged and followed after Papyrus. Sans could miss out on all the puzzles if he wanted.

* * *

 **Originally, I was going to leave the guards as dogs, but I decided late on to make them all cats, instead! I believe I've fixed every instance of the word 'dog' to become 'cat', but if I missed one, know its a mistake. And keep in mind this change only applies to the Snowdin Canine Unit. All other dogs are still dogs.**

 **Introducing Felix of the Snowdin Feline Unit, this run's Doggo. It's the best I could think of for the name change, so I apologize. The others aren't so bad. But it doesn't matter regardless, as Frisk doesn't know any of their names. After all, it's not like they can check anyone.**


	6. Bravery

**Figured Hard Mode wouldn't just make battles more difficult. The puzzles in the Ruins are all the same, but surely some puzzles must be harder, right? And if Snowdin's puzzles work the way they're supposed to...they can be pretty intimidating and difficult. At least, that's how I felt seeing for them the first time, before they were actually executed.**

* * *

The next puzzle wasn't very far from the first. They ran into a small snowball game before it, but they didn't have time for it. They had to get to the next puzzle. They left it untouched, and kept going until they got to what was supposedly Sans' puzzle.

"SANS!" Papyrus was yelling as they got near. "WHERE'S THE PUZZLE?"

"it's right there, on the ground." Sans pointed to a small box laying on the ground. "trust me. they'll never get past this one."

Frisk blinked. That was it? Well, whatever. They walked up to the box and looked at its top. There was a small picture of Sans and Papyrus, Papyrus posing to show off his outfit. They looked up at the corner. A one thousand piece jigsaw puzzle...he had to be kidding.

Ahead of them, they heard Sans snickering. They glared up at him.

"look, kid, a puzzle's a puzzle," he told them.

He was serious.

Well, alright, he asked for it. Frisk pulled the top off the box and to work. They'd done a few of these back on the surface, and not to brag, but they hadn't been too bad at them. It was all about the outside. Put that together, and the rest followed easy. Of course, this was a thousand pieces. They'd never done one with this many pieces, and more pieces just made it harder. They sat there for a long time, carefully putting each piece together, until finally they were finished. The skeletons were impressed.

"OH MY GOD! THEY ACTUALLY DID IT!"

"told ya it'd work, bro," Sans said. "like you said, they really care about puzzles."

"OF COURSE! SO MUCH SO THAT THEY CAN'T REFUSE ANY PUZZLE, EVEN YOUR LAME ONES!" Papyrus agreed. He posed. "IN THAT CASE, I'LL HAVE TO MAKE THE NEXT PUZZLE EXTRA CHALLENGING, JUST FOR THEM!" He ran off, eager to make the changes. Sans smiled and went after him, more slowly. Frisk wasn't too far behind.

A table holding a plate of frozen spaghetti stopped them. They observed the spaghetti for a moment, wondering who made it. Could it be...they saw a note next to it filled with writing they mostly didn't read, only looking at the end. It was signed by Papyrus. Ah, of course. It must have been made by that famous guardsman. (Well, they supposed he wasn't a famous guardsman yet. But they had no doubt he would be, someday.) If it was Papyrus', he's probably want it later, so they left it and kept going.

The way forward in this area was blocked by a row of spikes. If they were some other hero, and possible had a mustache, Frisk supposed they could probably just jump over them. But alas, their face was hairless, and their own jumping abilities weren't that great. Luckily, Frisk didn't need them to be. They located a map showing where a secret switch was. When they pressed this switch, the spikes disappeared. They could keep going.

They were about to cross a bridge to the next area, when they could hear something approach them. Cats were purring nearby, and they could hear the unmistakable sound of...a bass guitar? What was going on?

Two cats in black robes approached them. Both were wielding axes. They didn't like the looks of this.

"What's that smell?" one cat asked.

"Where's that smell?" the other asked.

"If you're a smell...Identify yoursmellf!" they both said together.

Both cats ran around excitedly, the bass guitar going wild.

The first cat went on as both stopped. "That smell makes me want to eliminate..."

"...Eliminate you!" the other cat added.

The two flipped off their hoods and held up their axes, prepared for battle. One appeared to be female and the other male, and it seemed like they were a couple. And by seemed, Frisk was 90% sure. In the middle of battle with a stranger, they were smooching almost nonstop. Gross.

The cats would only stop kissing long enough to attack. And even then, they kept blowing each other kisses. Unfortunately, this doubled as an attack. Circles of hearts appeared when they did this, the hearts alternating between white and blue. These were unavoidable, too. Frisk would have to find the best heart to go for, time it right so that the heart was blue when it got to them, and let it pass through them. It was more difficult than it sounded, and they were hit by white hearts a couple of times. They weren't fond of the idea of getting hurt by kisses.

Of course, the cats used their axes to attack, too. Sometimes they'd swing them around, other times throwing. And other times still, the two dogs would grab each other's free paws and spin together while swinging their axes. Getting hit by any of these attacks would be a bad idea.

Frisk focused on dodging the attacks and tried to figure out how to solve this peacefully. For a brief moment, they glanced down at their stick. There was no way they would fight.

Wait...these were cats. Surely they wouldn't...

As hard as they could, Frisk launched the stick as far away as they could. The two cats chased after the stick, excitedly yelping. As they got further and further away, their voices, arguing over who would get to catch it, faded. Frisk took the opportunity to run off as fast as they could. Not the best solution, perhaps, but it worked.

They ended up fleeing straight into a barricade of spikes. This must be another puzzle. They turned around and saw a sign and a switch. Luckily, it seemed like a small puzzle, and probably easy to solve. They didn't want those cats to find them again.

Turn all the X's into O's, the sign said. Then hit the switch.

Only two X's sat on the floor. This would be easy. Frisk figured out quickly that stepping on them was what made them into O's. They switched them both, then stepped on the switch. The spikes faded away.

Before they could go on, Papyrus approached them from the other side of the former barricade. He appeared almost hesitant.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT PAST MY TRAP!" he observed. "BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"

Trap? Did he mean...the spaghetti with his note? They hadn't even thought about eating it, all of it was still there. They nodded.

"REALLY? YOU WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH ME?"

That...wasn't what they meant at all. Truthfully, they were in a hurry, and hadn't even taken the time to realize it was for them. They wanted to correct him, but their mouth dried out and refused to work. It wasn't the truth, and they felt bad about it, but they didn't react to this question, and didn't correct him.

"DO NOT WORRY, HUMAN!" Papyrus assured them. "I WILL COOK YOU ALL THE SPAGHETTI YOU COULD EVER WANT!"

Well, refreshments had been promised, but spaghetti really wasn't what they'd had in mind. They weren't sure they had time for that. But they smiled at him anyway. He laughed with glee and ran to the next room, and they went after him. Somehow they were able to keep up, so he continued the conversation.

"MY BROTHER STARTED A SNOW COLLECTION RECENTLY. I THOUGHT IT WAS BAD ENOUGH WHEN HE COLLECTED SOCKS, BUT..." Papyrus sighed. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'D DO WITHOUT ME TAKING CARE OF HIM."

Frisk frowned. Gently, they pat his leg bone, since that's all they could reach.

He sighed again. "I KNOW. I NEED TO STAY STRONG AND BRAVE, FOR BOTH OF OUR SAKES." Look down at them, he smiled softly. "THANK YOU, HUMAN. THE NEXT PUZZLE IS JUST UP AHEAD."

Upon arriving, they stopped. Frisk could see more X's on the ground, indicating that this was similar to the last puzzle. However, this one was surrounded by snow, and they were fairly sure this puzzle would be much more challenging than the last.

"TRUTHFULLY, WAITING FOR YOU TO GET HERE WASN'T VERY FUN," Papyrus admitted. "I STARTED TO GET BORED, BUT I COULDN'T EXACTLY MAKE YOU GO FASTER, OR SHORTEN THE DISTANCE YOU HAD TO TRAVEL. SO I ARRANGED THE SNOW TO SPELL OUT MY NAME!" He proudly pointed to the puzzle ahead, and the snow around it. Frisk couldn't really tell...maybe it was easier to see from above? If so, this was quite the feat. Papyrus was something else. They wanted to congratulate him, but he went on before they could. "UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW ALL FROZE TO THE GROUND, AND THE SOLUTION'S DIFFERENT. BUT THERE'S NO NEED TO FEAR! I WILL SOLVE THE PUZZLE, SO WE MAY CONTINUE ONWARD!"

They tilted their head.

Papyrus coughed. "OF COURSE, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO TRY TO SOLVE IT YOURSELF."

They smiled. Good.

Of course, solving the puzzle was easier said than done. At Frisk's perspective, it was hard to tell where some of the X's even were, let alone the correct path to take. On their first attempt, they quickly found out that hitting an X twice turned it into a triangle, but thankfully hitting the switch while the puzzle was unsolved reset the puzzle. Papyrus offered to give hints a few time, but each time they refused. They could do this on their own.

And they did. Without hints or help, they solved the puzzle and hit the switch. The spike barricade further on vanished.

"YOU DID IT! AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN NEED MY HELP TO DO IT! WOWIE..." Papyrus pat them on the head, smiling. They smiled back at him. "THE NEXT PUZZLE MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU! NYEH HEH HEH!"

He ran onward. They started to follow him, but almost literally bumped into Sans, standing on the other side of the spike barricade. A smile was glued to his face, as usual.

"wow, you solved it all by yourself. good job, kid," he praised them. "you didn't even need my help to do it, which is great. i love doing absolutely nothing." He chuckled, but Frisk wasn't impressed. Noticing this, he trailed it off and kept talking. "i gotta say, though, kid. that seemed pretty easy for ya."

They shrugged. They had experience with puzzles before, and usually enjoyed them. It didn't really seem that odd to them.

Sans leaned in close, his eyes glinting. "too easy for ya, even. it's almost like..." The lights of his eyes disappeared, and Frisk jumped. "...you've seen it before."

Frisk froze.

"...or not. what do i know, right?" The lights reappeared, and he laughed, like nothing even happened. "i mean, there's no way you could've, right? you're new here. but, uh, anyway." He coughed. "you don't want to keep papyrus waiting, right? better hurry along, kiddo."

...What had that been about? Frisk had never seen that puzzle before, or any of the puzzles in Snowdin for that matter. This was all new to them. What was he implying? It was hard to say. He kept giving them mixed symbols, and they had no idea what was going on in that skull of his. So they frowned, and kept on going.

The next puzzle was just beyond this one. Snow was brushed away from most of the ground to reveal tiled flooring. A machine sat on the other side. Sans was positioned next to it, and Papyrus not too far from it. He waved as Frisk approached.

"HELLO, HUMAN!"

Frisk smiled and waved back. The skeletons, or Papyrus at least, were really growing on them. Papyrus was so enthusiastic, that even though Frisk would have preferred to rush through everything, they couldn't help but slow down and enjoy theirself a little. As for Sans, they were still put off by the mixed signals he sent. Sometimes he just joked around and seemed fine with everything, and other times he was analyzing their every move and accusing them of...something. They weren't really sure what, still. They weren't sure what he thought of them, and in return they couldn't be sure what they thought of him, either. But most of the time, he seemed like a nice guy. They both did.

"SEE THE TILES ON THE FLOOR?" Frisk looked down and nodded. They'd seen the tiles before, but they were still there. "ONCE I TURN ON THE MACHINE, THEY'LL TURN DIFFERENT COLORS. AND EACH TILE IS DIFFERENT! YELLOW TILES WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU. RED TILES WILL BLOCK YOU, SO YOU CAN'T STEP ON THEM." Papyrus went on to explain each possible color in detail. And there were a lot. Frisk wasn't sure if they'd be able to remember them all exactly, but they'd sure try.

"AND ONE LAST THING. THIS PUZZLE IS COMPLETELY RANDOM," Papyrus told them. "EACH TIME IT'S ACTIVATED, IT WILL CREATE A PUZZLE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. NO ONE WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION, NOT EVEN I. I HOPE YOU'RE READY, HUMAN."

He flipped the switch. The tiles flashed rapidly through different colors for a moment, then there was a beep, and the tiles stayed the color they had switched to. The puzzle was set. And different colors were all over the place, making this easily the most difficult puzzle they'd faced so far. Frisk wasn't sure if they could solve it. But they hadn't gotten this far by quitting, and there was no way they'd quit now. Carefully, Frisk tried to find a path they could take and follow it. More than a few times, they tried to go the wrong way, but they were able to keep going, and so they did. They stayed calm and kept their cool, and they were able to make it to the end.

"AMAZING! YOU ARE REALLY GOOD AT PUZZLES, HUMAN!" Papyrus said as they finished the puzzle. "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT. BUT THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL BE THE HARDEST OF ALL! IT WILL BE YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE YET. I HOPE YOU'RE AS EXCITED AS I AM!" Laughing, he ran ahead.

As Frisk began to follow after him, Sans, who still remained behind, spoke. "it's not the, uh, puzzle papyrus is referring to. just wanted to warn ya. the next puzzle is an ice puzzle." He winked. "but i'm sure you'll _slide_ right through that one, too."

They snickered. That might've been the best one yet. Sans smiled brighter, seeming to enjoy the positive reaction. Well, Papyrus wasn't fond of them, and Sans had mentioned he liked having a good audience... Frisk still wasn't sure what to think of him, but they knew they at least liked his puns.

Sans was correct on every account. The next area did hold an ice puzzle, and without the presence of either skeleton, this probably wasn't the puzzle Papyrus had described. They did slide across the ice several times, and solving the puzzle was indeed a breeze. It did very little to hinder their progress, so they went on. Following the path ahead, they ran into two more cats, one lesser and one greater. Both were easy to appease and spare. They went on, until they reached the puzzle that they would soon realize would be the last.

"BEHOLD, HUMAN! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" Papyrus announced as Frisk crossed the bridge. He pressed a switch, and several obstacles appeared around the bridge. Canons, spears, axes, swords, torches...and was that a small white dog? "WHEN I START IT UP, EVERYTHING WILL BEGIN TO MOVE. AXES WILL SWING, BLADES WILL SLICE, CANONS WILL FIRE, AND THE TORCHES WILL..." He trailed off, looking off into the sky as if it had the answer. "TORCHES WILL..." He sighed. "WELL, IT DOESN'T MATTER. BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE THE PUZZLE! RIGHT...NOW!" Papyrus hesitated for a small moment, before hitting another switch.

Everything activated at once, doing everything Papyrus described and more. Frisk paused, watching it all. Did they really have to get past this? Maybe if they took it slowly, carefully... Timing their movements as best they could, they got past the axes, the swords, the canons. They let their guard down a little too much for the torch, and burned their hands, and almost their face. Frisk whimpered a little, but made it past the torch okay after that. All was left was the dog, hanging directly in their face. They stopped, wondering what was supposed to be going on with this. The dog licked their face and barked. Frisk giggled and pat its head. The puzzle deactivated.

"WOWIE, I'VE NEVER SEEN SOMEONE SO GOOD AT PUZZLES! THAT WAS INCREDIBLE, HUMAN." Papyrus frowned, examining them. "ARE YOU OKAY? YOU DIDN'T GET HURT, DID YOU?"

Frisk's gaze dropped to their burnt hands. Papyrus gasped and kneeled down to gently hold them in his own. Frisk felt the now-familiar sensation of healing magic, and in a short minute, their hands were much better. After a short conversation, Sans and Papyrus left, leaving Frisk all alone. They rested for a moment, and went forward.

They finally reached the town of Snowdin.

* * *

 **The Snowdin Feline Unit's all appeared in full! We have Felix, the Kiti (Cataressa and Catamy), the Greater Cat, and the Lesser Cat! They may be cats, but they can still be spared with sticks... I didn't go into detail, but Greater Cat and Lesser Cat were also spared with sticks. Frisk just keeps finding more all over the forest, they're everywhere.**

 **If the end here seems a bit rushed, that's because it is! Sorry about that.**

 **The next chapter is Snowdin's boss battle...things'll get pretty interesting. I hope you're all excited. I sure am. The next update shouldn't take so long, since it should be the usual length, and I've already written quite a bit of it out! It still needs a lot of editing, and has been edited already, but I did the initial draft months ago, since I was just too excited and had too many ideas to wait.**


	7. Perseverence

**Here we are, the Snowdin boss fight! I started writing this way back in the Ruins, before Frisk even fought Toriel. I was so excited, I couldn't wait this long. And since then, it's gone through some major revisions, I've edited this probably around five times, and I usually don't put that much effort in, but I really wanted to get this right. And it could definitely still use improvement, but I think it's ready. As a side effect of all this, it only took a few hours maybe to put this all together, so instead of updating with two chapters at once as I usually do, I'll only update with one for this chapter and the next. Things will be back to normal after that.**

* * *

Frisk took a few minutes to explore the town, seeing what buildings were around. It seemed rather small, with not much available. A small shop, an inn, a library, and a restaurant. That was fine, honestly. It'd be quick to pass by, and the quicker they could keep going, the better.

However, this didn't mean they couldn't stop at all. On the contrary, they were exhausted. Travelling through Snowdin had taken a toll, and they hadn't slept since they left the Ruins, and hadn't eaten for even longer. It'd be best to stop and rest and get something to eat. If they threw caution to the wind, they wouldn't be any help to anyone. They'd stay at the inn for the night.

When the innkeeper asked for the gold to stay, Frisk gave her a handful and hoped she didn't notice it wasn't nearly enough. They'd gotten a bit of gold here and there that monsters had given them after sparing, but that was it. They couldn't actually afford the inn. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice. She simply smiled, handed them a key, and told them to rest well.

Inside their room, Frisk was going to go straight to sleep, but they notices their clothes were covered in dirt and snow. It was probably about time to change them again, they supposed. They wouldn't care, but their parents used to care a lot about staying clean, so they did so. A fresh pair of shorts, and a black sweater with two thick blue stripes. This sweater was a little big on them, but it would do. Better big than small. With that done, they went to sleep, the sounds of snoring net door comforting them.

They went downstairs after they woke up and gave the innkeeper back the key. The innkeeper muttered something about 'only being up there for a couple of minutes' and gave back their gold. Had they only been up there that long? They couldn't tell. They simple thanked her with a huge smile and went to the shop next door.

At the shop, they picked up a cinnamon bunny and a bisicle (two popsicles frozen together), one of each item being sold. They ate the bunny straight away, and tucked the bisicle into their backpack for later. They thanked the shopkeeper, and then left.

There was no time to stay at an restaurant to eat, and they had no desire to read books in the library. It was time to head on, and face Papyrus. Frisk ran out of town, and straight into a foggy area next to a river. They could barely see anything except shapes, and after taking a few steps into the fog, they could see something ahead of them. Something tall. They figured it might be Papyrus.

"HUMAN!"

They were correct.

"ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE...THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PUZZLE LOVER. ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S LOVE OF SPAGHETTI. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A SMART AND COOL PERSON THINK YOU ARE ALSO SMART AND COOL. THIS MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW. BUT FEAR NOT, LONELY HUMAN!" He paused to laugh. "I, PAPYRUS, WILL BE..." He hesitated, turning away. "WAIT. THAT'S NOT RIGHT. YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU AND FULFILL MY DREAM! I SHALL BE THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

It was time for the battle. Frisk prepared theirself to dodge, and Papyrus readied his first attack.

But before Papyrus could make a move, a soul appeared out in front of him, upside-down and a color Frisk couldn't quite tell. It turned a dark blue, and suddenly he was being tugged away from the fight. Papyrus tumbled back onto his back while his brother appeared in front of him. It was impossible to tell what Sans was thinking, but Papyrus was clearly annoyed by this intrusion.

"SANS!" he shouted. "YOU ASSISTANCE IS NOT REQUIRED. I CAN HANDLE THE HUMAN BY MYSELF!"

"you should go report to undyne, pap," Sans replied. He looked at the human, the glowing whites in his eyes gone. "i won't beat 'em for ya, i swear... i just wanna talk to them for a bit. you can fight all you want when we're done."

"WELL...ALRIGHT." Papyrus sighed, getting up. By now, his soul was no longer blue, and was disappearing. "AS LONG AS YOU LEAVE THE CAPTURING TO ME! I'LL NEVER GET IN THE ROYAL GUARD IF I LET YOU DO IT!"

"wouldn't dream of it," Sans told him, and he was satisfied. Papyrus slid backwards out of the area and into Waterfall. Sans' attention went completely to the human, who was frozen in place. This wasn't the fight they'd expected, they never thought they'd fight Sans at all... but if he said he just wanted to talk? It might not be that bad.

"so, kiddo..." Frisk showed no signs of reacting, so Sans took the first move. Bones appeared in his hands and around him, likely to be used in his attacks. "are you ready? like i said, i'll leave the capturing up to papyrus. i probably wouldn't beat ya anyway."

He tossed a few bones at them, which they dodged easily. It didn't look like he was going to put a lot of effort into the fight. This was fine by them; they didn't want to fight anyway. A little loosened up, they told him a bad skeleton pun, probably one they'd seen in Toriel's journal. He laughed and picked up some more bones.

"heh, good one, kid." He threw more bones, which they didn't even need to try to dodge this time. They flew harmlessly pass them. "you dodged that one pretty well. guess i'll have to put some more backbone into this attack."

Frisk couldn't stop the giggles escaping their mouth. They chose not to act this time, silently sparing him instead.

"guess my puns aren't that bad, huh? looks like you think they're pretty humerus." Sans grinned as he threw more bones. They flew safely over Frisk's head. He was barely paying attention to his attacks, choosing to focus on the human in front of them instead. He was probably just eager to see their reaction, it was clear he wanted to make them laugh.

Frisk usually enjoyed a good pun. They giggled again, continuing to spare him. It probably wasn't helping them to ignore actions they could take, but they didn't mind. They'd been safe so far, and they wanted to trust Sans, even if he'd been...acting weird ever since they'd met him. They'd probably be fine. They hoped.

Sans' attacks continued, as harmless as before. The bones didn't even come close to them this time. "i wish i was here to just tell jokes, kid. really. but there's a reason i sent paps off. like i said, we need to talk." More bones appeared around him, ready to be thrown. "but don't worry, i'm not gonna lie to ya or anything. even if i do, you'll be able to tell. after all, you can see right through me."

Frisk didn't laugh this time. They'd hoped that Sans' talk would just be a few puns or something. That turned out to be too optimistic. And with the way he'd been acting all day, there was no telling what would happen next. They began to ask him what he wanted to talk about. But they were cut off by a strange sound, and everything around them started to change. Thin, sticky purple bones began to wrap around the area. They stretched around trees, across the river and many ran themselves near Frisk's position. Sans jumped onto one of them, now standing up straighter. He pushed a pair of small, purple glasses clouded with fog on his face, and there was a purple notebook, decorated with a large blank heart, sat in his hands as if it'd been there the whole time. It flipped open and he looked down at the page, barely paying attention to what was on it.

"now, this may surprise you, but i used to work with the royal scientist," he told them.

Frisk's soul turned blue, catching them by surprise. Carefully, Sans rose them up into the air, then slammed them down into the ground as bones appeared, sliding on the purple bones. They were unable to avoid them, and they still didn't take much damage, but it sure hurt like it. They reached out for the purple bones to try to pull themselves up, but their hands just swept through them, as if they weren't there. They looked up at him and took no other action. It'd probably be useless anyway; it'd distract them from dodging and Sans probably wouldn't appreciate being interrupted.

He looked up at them again over the notebook, his grin as big as ever. He began walking along the line, talking as he went. "we didn't all work on the same thing. one of us was more focused on energy, and another put most of their time into studying souls. but me...one of the focuses of my studies was time."

Bones flew at them along the purple bones at all directions. Straight down, close to the ground, and at several different angles from above. Their soul now red again, Frisk jumped and leaped and rolled around them, doing their best to stay safe. A few bones snagged them here or there, but they were surprisingly fine. His attacks didn't seem to do much damage.

Sans watched them calmly, his expression betraying nothing. "for the most part, time only moves forward. we can't go back no matter how hard we try, and we certainly can't stop it. but if someone could make time move differently, it'd create an irregularity. something we could measure."

An irregularity...that caught Frisk off guard. A bone flew at them and hit them directly in the face. They fell on their back, the rest of the bones luckily passing above them and keeping them safe. As they landed, their soul turned blue once again. Frisk rolled over and pulled half of the bisicle out of their bag, restoring their health while they started to think. They couldn't think for long, though. Otherwise, they'd take serious damage.

"for a long time, there was nothing. but i was still convinced it was possible. i built a machine of my own, something that should be able to disrupt the normal flow of time. i never quite succeeded...my prototypes were all full of flaws. i gave up and eventually left, but i kept monitoring for irregularities for a long time after."

Giant monstrous skulls appeared on the purple bones now, the regular bones all gone. They fired beams from all directions. Frisk had to focus hard to keep dodging without getting seriously hurt. They looked up at Sans whenever they got the opportunity, and they could see now the pupils had faded from his eyes. He looked much less friendly and harmless...and more like someone prepared to take them down. They didn't like that look.

"and eventually, i saw it. an irregularity in the fabric of time. but this one was different from any i'd later see. the readings showed that no one moved backwards, or even stopped altogether. the irregularity skipped ahead, and time itself changed. history kept rewriting itself as time kept going forward. it was unique, but since i could see it all happening, i was later able to figure out the cause."

The skulls started moving along the purple bones, continuing to fire. Parallel to them, from above, and from all sorts of diagonals. It was now extremely difficult to predict where they'd be and where the safest place to go was. Their soul turned red once again, but it did nothing to help. Frisk started taking a lot of damage. The more they got hurt, they started to misstep, and it only increased from there. They barely held on, giving Sans a pleading look when there was a lull in the action. He wasn't going to kill them...right?

"do you get what i'm saying, kid? did you figure out the point in all this?"

They fell forward to the ground and said nothing. The attacks had gotten too difficult to dodge, but they hadn't stopped listening to him, not once. They had a bad feeling, a feeling they knew exactly what this was about. But they didn't want to voice it. When no response came, Sans stopped his attacks, his smile seeming even bigger than before (if that was possible).

"heh. it's been a long time, hasn't it, frisk?"

Blue bones joined the skulls sitting on the purple bones as for the third time, their soul became blue. The blue bones flew towards them while the skulls, now stationary, started firing again. It was much easier for Frisk to dodge these attacks. They were barely able to even pull themself off the ground, let alone run around and dodge, but they could at least get themself to roll around and dive for a short time. They collapsed again when there was a break in the action. They really needed a break.

"you sure are quiet, kiddo." Sans was now sitting on one of the bones in front of them. He leaned forward, watching. "are you just gonna sit there, or...?"

"...Sans, you..." Frisk pushed their head up off the ground, look up at him. "You really..." They trailed off, not wanting to finish. They pushed themself up off the ground and ate the other half of the bisicle for a last burst of energy. They doubted this was over.

Standing up, Sans was now on a purple bone a few feet away. He threw some bones along the purple bones, the bones flashing between their normal white and blue. "...like i said, kid. i kept an eye socket on my readings." As the bones approached them, they maneuvered themselves so that they safely passed through when they were blue. "i saw the signs of an irregularity, and i knew what would come of it. i made plenty of notes, making sure i'd be able to remember everything i could. and, hey, it wasn't perfect, but i could still connect the pieces, at least." A single blue bone flew at Frisk. They didn't have to move, but they doubted they had the energy even if they had to, so they let it pass harmlessly by. "this sure isn't the underground you're used to."

"...You're right. It's not." Frisk's voice dropped to a mumble. Now was the right time to act. Even if it didn't help anything, it'd buy them time to recover. But regardless, Sans seemed like he was done. It was their turn to respond. "Since I got here...you're the only monster that's really recognized me. I didn't know many of them before, but back then almost everyone knew who I was. Now they don't, and...I don't know what happened, but...I can't stop. Please, just let me go."

Sans looked down at them. His voice changed; his tone lowered, and there was the small waver of uncertainty in it. "kid, i know you're supposed to be determined and all, but...in this case, i think the most determined thing you can do is quit. whatever you're up to, the odds are really against ya on this one."

"I have to keep going."

Their head dropped. Frisk didn't look up for awhile. Once they did, all the bones and skulls were gone, and their soul was back to red. Sans was in front of them, offering his hand. They took it and slowly pulled themself up. He grinned at them.

"guess i can't stop ya. but you don't look ready to go anywhere right now. c'mon, let me take ya to grillby's."

* * *

 **If you were expecting a Papyrus fight instead of a Sans fight, which I figure and mostly hope you were, don't rule it out just yet. And if you've been left confused, you will receive...some answers to your questions, soon. But first, some notes about Sans' boss fight, it's important to understand.**

 **The purple bones in this fight are completely different from white bone and blue bone attacks. I've tried to make sure which is which is obvious, and I hope this isn't confusing. Bone attacks are still bone attacks. As for these purple bones, they're like the purple lines in Muffet's fight, but there's more of them and don't run completely parallel.**

 **Karmic Retribution still applies in this fight. But Frisk is still at 1 lv. There's a bit of karma going here, but not nearly as much as with lv 20 Frisk, so Sans' attacks aren't as powerful and devastating as usual. That said, KR doesn't do nothing on this Frisk, and his attacks still pack a punch, especially if you're taking a continuous beating.**

 **The whole Sans boss fight thing itself... When Undertale was a better and more relevant topic and people would once in awhile discuss things that could be a part of a complete hard mode, a pacifist Sans fight was suggested more than once. A Sans who either didn't promise Toriel to keep the human safe, or broke that promise outright, and fought the human as they stepped out of the Ruins. Or a Sans who would offer to fight the human at his first station in Waterfall, always able to be spared, and even when Frisk fights, his attacks don't connect. This isn't what anyone had in mind, I'm sure. But that's fine. It all has a reason. And I'm fond of my ideas, even if I can never execute them right.**

 **And then the theme for this fight...the music that would be playing here would be a remix of Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans and Spider Dance, with maybe a bit of Megalovania mixed in if you really wanted, but since I don't consider it a Sans theme, I probably wouldn't.**

 **See you all next time at Grillbz'!**


	8. Collusion

**At its core, Undertale's hard mode has two major rules:**

 **1) The fallen human's name is Frisk**

 **2) Battles are much more difficult.**

 **As such, this story has three goals:**

 **1) To explore what a finished hard mode could look like**

 **2) To explore ideas people around the internet have had for possible boss fights in hard mode,**

 **3) To take the aforementioned rules and to try to make sense of them, give them context, a story, and see how they could come about. Anything else about Hardtale that is different from the game is a result of this goal.**

 **Nothing just is in Undertale, this is a game where you have to check everything twice. We are just now beginning to get into all of that. Seven/eight chapters in, we are just starting to get into the point of Hardtale, and Hardtale's real plot. Just keep in mind, no matter what happens, at its base I've grounded this story into those two rules, and I have not and will not deviate from my goals or my major plans for this. Everything that happens from here on was always meant to happen. Although, keep in mind this isn't just a straight up Hard Mode AU, either."take a seat." Sans gestured to the stool beside him, grinning as always.**

* * *

Frisk jumped onto it and sat down, but what they felt under them wasn't the cushion of the stool's seat. The low sound of air escaping sounded below them. Beside them, Sans was snickering.

"careful," he warned, all too late. "sometimes people like to put whoopie cushions on the seats."

They rolled their eyes, but they were smiling.

"what do ya want, kid?" he asked, sliding over a menu. They pointed to the fries, and he considered this. "you know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. we'll take a double order of fries, grillbz."

They hadn't noticed the flaming bartender until he was heading into the back to fill the order.

"so, kid." Sans leaned against the table with his elbows, and rested his head in the hand opposite of Frisk. He watched them closely, seeming to be monitoring their every action. "i'm sure you have plenty of questions. i've got just as many. but lemme make you a deal. you can ask me whatever you want, as long as you answer my questions, too."

They tilted their head for a moment, and nodded. That seemed fair. And besides, they wanted to trust him, and they wanted just as much for him to trust them. Hiding things would only make things worse down the road, they suspected. Better to come clean now. They had little reason to lie to him anyway.

"guess it's a deal, then. you go first, kiddo."

They frowned, considering their options carefully. There were many things they wanted to know, and not all of it he could probably answer. But one question burned the strongest in their mind. Something they'd been wanting to ask someone, anyone, and he'd already alluded to it during their fight. So they opened their mouth, and spoke, their voice quiet.

"Before, everyone knew who I was. Even monsters I had never seen before knew my name just looking at me. _You_ know who I am, and we only just met in the forest. I never gave you my name. But now, no one knows my name. I saw Mom, and she didn't even know me..." Frisk clutched their hands together, frowning. "Why doesn't anyone know who I am, Sans?"

He chuckled, looking away for less than a second to grab a bottle of ketchup. Grillby came by, delivering their order of fries, before hurriedly moving to take someone else's order. After he was gone, everthing darkened. Monsters slowed until it they were practically not moving at all. Even Grillby's flames as he left were completely still. All of it, except for themself and Sans. It almost felt like time stopped for everyone else. Like they were practically alone. Weird.

"dunno what you were expecting." He shrugged. "i'd say you're lucky you made it one piece. there's a reason that time machine was buried in an old lab."

"What do you mean?" They glanced over the fries before them before picking one up and taking a bite. Whoa, way too hot. They dropped what remained of the fry and let the fries sit to cool.

"i told you before, none of my prototypes ever worked before i gave up on 'em. 'course, we ran loads of tests. sent all sorts of stuff forward, backward, just about anywhere. not a single test was successful."

Sans stopped here to take a big swig of ketchup before continuing.

"some things came back to us in pieces. literally. we'd get pens and papers all torn apart. i doubt anything that was sent back ever made it. least, i don't remember getting anything before we sent it. a lot of things ended up in the wrong place. i couldn't tell ya how many times papyrus called me, telling me to stop dropping my 'science stuff' on his head. nothing was supposed to leave the lab. and sometimes, we just completely forgot about stuff we threw in the thing. we kept a record of every experiment, of course, and we'd look back and see we did it, but we just couldn't remember actually doing it." He paused again, throwing a single french fry in his mouth. "every machine had those problems. my guess is, since you came out of the ruins, you ran into those last two issues. but trust me, kid, it's a good thing no one recognizes ya.

"ugh." Sans looked down quickly and noticed a large glob of ketchup on his shirt. "got some on me. remind me to clean that off later."

"What do you mean, it's a good thing?" Frisk challenged, twirling a now cooler french fry in their fingers. "Everyone knowing me before felt kinda weird, but..." They trailed off, nibbling on the french fry.

"like i said. some stuff that went through the time machine, we forgot all about it. same thing happened to you. or at least, the reports suggested as much. since i knew what was going on, i made as many notes on everything as i could, and i could put together the pieces to kinda figure out who you were. but most of us just remember there was a human, and i'm surprised we held onto that much."

"But why's that a good thing," Frisk insisted.

He smiled. "you really wanna know, kid?"

They nodded. He laughed.

"well, here's how it goes. everyone remembers a human fell. no one remembers seeing them, or meeting them, just they were there. no one remembers you becoming a part of the royal family. none of it. you were just there. but, the thing is, once you were gone, it wasn't just you. at the same time you disappeared, the prince did, too."

"...Asriel?" That can't be right.

"i'd be willing to guess him disappearing's the only reason anyone remembers you at all. seemed pretty suspicious anyway, and it was too easy for everyone to connect the dots. you don't want everyone to know you're the first human that ever fell down here, frisk. they all think you killed the prince."

"What?" Frisk crushed a handful of fries they'd been about to eat in their hand. "I'd never...he was my brother. He was my best friend." They stared up at Sans, their eyes pleading. "I'd never hurt him, I swear. I don't know why he disappeared. He wanted to come with me, but I didn't let him. He should've been fine."

"hey, i never said you did." Sans squirted some ketchup on his fries and ate another one. "just that's what we all remember, that's all. no one really knows for sure why he's gone."

"...Maybe he came after me anyway," Frisk muttered. "He might be around here somewhere, looking for me, or..."

"eh, it's possible," he conceded. "from what i could gather, you two were inseperable. but i dunno, kid. by all accounts, you really are lucky you came here in one piece. you could lost an arm, or your memory, or something even worse. if he followed ya, who knows what coulda happened to him."

The two were quiet for a few minutes. Both stared down at their food, mulling over this. After another gulp of ketchup, it was Sans who broke the silence.

"that's what everyone thinks, anyway. and i took notes and saw the signs to help myself figure it all out, but my memory's no different," he told them. "once i figured out who you were, i wasn't sure what to make of you. i definitely didn't want to let you get too close to pap. i had no idea what could happen. and honestly, kid? i hate to say it, but i'm still kinda suspicious of ya."

They said nothing.

"well? i answered your question," he concluded. "so now it's my turn."

They nodded, but still said nothing. They cast their eyes around the restaurant, but it was all the same. No one had moved for a few minutes now. Very strange, indeed. When they looked at Sans again, the lights in his eyes had disappeared, giving him the same menacing look he'd used in their battle. It still sent a chill down their spine.

"why'd you use my time machine in the first place?" he asked.

They frowned. "I know I snuck into the lab and used it without permission. I didn't want to upset you, I didn't think you'd even know, but it doesn't make it right. And I knew that, but I'm sorry."

"i didn't ask for an apology, kid." His face was unchanged.

"Right..."

Frisk swallowed, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. What they were about to say probably sounded ridiculous. And probably stupid. If they told anyone else, they'd think it was some kid's game of pretend. They weren't sure he'd like their answer. But they'd already made up their mind to be honest, and answer whatever he asked. And it wasn't like they hadn't anticipated this. They just suddenly felt...strange about it. They took a deep breath, and tried to relax.

"I'm here to get six other human souls."

"...what?" The lights in his eyes returned, flickering brighter than usual.

"I'm here for six other human souls," they reiterated. "So I can break the barrier."

They tried to gauge Sans' reaction. He was silent, and began eating his fries once more. However, he didn't take his eyes off of them. They didn't know what was running through his mind. But he seemed to accept this answer, which was a relief. They breathed again, and began.

"When I fell down here, the first time, Asriel was the first monster I ever met. He helped me and I met his parents, and they took me in. They were nice. Way nicer than anyone I'd ever met. Most other monsters I got to meet were that way, too. Everyone was kind and expected nothing from me."

Before going on, they coughed. They didn't usually talk this much at once, and their throat was...a little sore, but they couldn't stop now, even if they wanted to.

"But I could tell a lot of monsters were suffering down here, even if they tried to hide it," they went on. They looked down, frowning. "Most of them had never gotten to see the sun. They never got to see the stars at night. It wasn't fair. They tried not to lose hope, but the more time I spent here, it became clearer." They looked at him, expression unchanged. "I couldn't sit by. They needed help, and I had to repay everyone's kindness.

"Dad told me I was the future of humans and monsters. Mom said I'd grow up to be wonderful, and I'd do great things. They deserved to see the surface again. I had to do something."

"whoa. sounds like you put way too much pressure on yourself," Sans commented through a mouth full of fries. "humans are supposed to be determined and all, i know, but this is way too much for any one person. from what i can gather, all your family wanted from you in return was your happiness. no one expected you to free everyone by yourself. especially while you're still...what are you, nine? you're still a kid. this isn't your responsibility."

They shrugged. "If I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't be here. I'm committed, Sans. I won't turn back until it's done."

He sighed, but said nothing, only drinking another gulp of ketchup.

"I decided," Frisk continued, "I would break the barrier. But I only have one soul. I could take monsters to the surface. But to do anything more permanent, I needed six more human souls. I was the only human that had ever fallen. There weren't any other souls down here, so I'd have to figure out a way to get them."

They twisted a fry in their hands. "There's humans outside the barrier, I know, and Asriel would've helped me get there. But he's a monster. It was too dangerous for him out there, and...there was no way I'd hurt anyone. I wouldn't take their souls, or force them down here. That was out of the question. I needed to find a way where no one would get hurt, and Asriel would be safe."

"so, the time machine?" Sans asked

Frisk nodded. "I started hearing about experiments. Ways to maybe break the barrier. The Royal Scientist wanted to use energy to do so, but other scientists focused on souls and time, and between those three experiments-"

"whoa, hold on," Sans interrupted. "gotta stop you there. the royal scientist didn't do anything with energy. she didn't have her title yet, but she was looking at souls, seeing if there was any way to make monster souls more powerful, like yours. she thought she was getting nowhere back then, but she didn't take on any other projects."

"Mom and Dad told me it was the Royal Scientist who worked with energy." Frisk cocked an eyebrow. "If it wasn't him, then who was it?"

"beats me," he replied with a shrug. "can't remember. no one does. all i know is they built the core. no one else could've pulled that off, not alph, and definitely not me. haven't seen or heard of 'em since."

"That's weird," they muttered, before shaking their head. "But regardless of who did what, I heard about it, probably around when you left. The time experiments were stopping, and that's what caught my attention. Before long, I had a plan.

"I knew at least some of the experiments involved time machines. If I could sneak into the lab and use one, I could skip ahead. I could go to a time when the Underground had six other human souls, go back to my time, and break the barrier. I had no idea how far to go ahead, it was a huge guess, but I was willing to take the risk. I could just use the time machine again if I was wrong. I told Asriel what I was doing, and put it into motion. He came with me to the lab, but he didn't come with me. I wouldn't let him, I told him it was too dangerous, so he stayed behind. I don't know what happened to him after that, but...I promise, I didn't hurt him. It wasn't me."

They stopped twisting the fry in their hand and nibbled on it instead. "And that's what I did," they finished. "'M sorry I used your stuff without asking."

Sans took a long drink of ketchup before responding.

"do you even know how reckless that was, kid?"

"I know it was dangerous, but-"

"you shouldn't be messing with time if you don't know what you're doing," he interrupted. "there's a reason scientists were working on that stuff. sure you had good intentions and all, but what you were planning was something else. certainly not something i'd suggest, danger to yourself aside."

"What...do you mean?" they asked, uncertainty hovering in their voice.

"i think i know what you were think. correct me if i'm wrong. if you went ahead and then went back again with the souls, those kids wouldn't have to get hurt in your time. no one would. you'd just be back the same moment you left, and it'd be like you were never gone. and then everyone could go free." Sans paused, but no corrections sprang forth. He picked up a fry and examined it closely. "but you never considered the consequences of your actions. lemme ask you something. once all of that was said and done, what did you think would happen to us?" He watched them closely out of the corner of his eyesocket, waiting patiently for an answer.

"I-I...I didn't think..." they trailed off. His answer never came. Frisk didn't truly have an answer to that, because they never did think about it. Realization widened their eyes, and they looked away. Silence was the only honest answer now.

"heh. guess you didn't. we don't just stop existing because you leave and change history. at that point, you've created another timeline. you've got yourself parallel universes. both keep going right next to each other, but things turn out differently. in your timeline, you have the soul, no one's hurt, and you all go free. but this timeline still goes on, too. we have no prince, the human souls are gone, and we lose the chance we had at breaking the barrier. monsters lose all hope. you're a hero in your timeline, but in ours, a dirty brother killer strikes again. as far as we're concerned, you've stolen hope from us twice, even if we don't even realize it. but it was a human, so it's all the same to us anyway. three times, the humans have taken everything from us."

Something knotted itself up in their stomach, and it grew worse with every word he said. Frisk couldn't even look at him. They couldn't eat anymore. They shoved away their fries and dropped their gaze to the table.

"come on, kid, lighten up. you did mean well," Sans pointed out. "besides, maybe it's best if we all don't go free anyway. the way things are now, it'd just end in a war against humanity. don't think you'd wanna see that, kid. i sure don't." He shrugged. "i know you wanna help. but science is weird and messy, especially if a kid who doesn't know what they're doing gets involved. you don't always know what exactly you're getting into. it's dangerous stuff, and mistakes happen."

They were silent.

"i'm not trying to stop ya. you can do whatever you want, it's your call. but i figured you should know exactly what you're getting yourself into. exactly what will happen with what you've got planned. every action's got consequences, and no one else's above 'em. you just have to do the best with what you're given." He rubbed the back of his neck. "anyway, i'm rotting for ya, kiddo. whatever you do, it'll be for the good of everyone, not just in one time or another. and i'll respect that decision, whatever it is."

Sans stood up and walked out of the restaurant, leaving his fries. Frisk sat their, unmoving, for some time before they left as well.

* * *

 **this is way longer than any other chapter, and i am sorry. but um, happy 20,000 words! we're not even halfway through this story yet. i try not to let this fact get to me, it's depressing.**

 **Anyway, the Ruins ran a bit long because of actual in game Hard Mode differences, and Snowdin ran a bit long because the puzzles are different, so I went through each one. Waterfall doesn't have many puzzles, and since they're set up by Undyne, I doubt...they'll be super different, but other than the end, Waterfall shouldn't run as long. At least, I hope not.**


End file.
